Christmas Disaster!
by Breezyfeather
Summary: Runo is cleaning up her cafe a week before Christmas when two Vexos show up that she isn't too happy to see. With Julie out, Dan on New Vestroia, and a snowstorm impeding travel, things sure aren't going in her favor. When Spectra and Gus kidnap and take her to New Vestroia, effectively ruining her Christmas plans, there's only one question on her mind: How will she get back?
1. Kidnapped

"**Heya! Breezyfeather here!" Breezyfeather yells out. Dan and the others groan. **

"**Was it really necessary to yell?" Runo shouts.**

"**Yes."**

"**What was the reason?"**

"**I had to wake you up somehow."**

"**BREEZYFEATHER!" Fabia and Mira grab Runo's arms to keep her from attacking Breezyfeather while Julie grabs her legs. Together, they all topple over. Alice watches from where she is sitting on the beam across the living room top with Shun.**

"**I'm worried about Runo," she says softly.**

"**Don't worry. She'll be fine," Shun grins. **

"**Aha! Bakugan Christmas Special!" Breezy shouts. Ren, Mason, Zenet, Sid, Jesse, and the Vexos all groan. "Quiet you!"**

"**Ugh!"**

"**Sigh. Merry Christmas everyone!" Breezyfeather says happily.**

Runo softly hummed "Carol of the bells" as she wiped the counter in her parents' cafe. Worry made her stomach twist and clench as she dug the sponge into an irritating grease stain. It had been an awfully busy morning, filled with customers on their way to their family's houses, or their own. She had had to endure several rude remarks from a few of the customers while her parents were in the back filling orders, but Runo had learned to develop a sort of filter to the mean comments. Thankfully her father hadn't heard. If he had, he probably would have beaten the customer with a broom.

Around eleven o'clock in the morning, it had started to snow. Every single time a customer opened the door, they would bring a huge gust of wind and snow with them, chilling everyone to the bone and earning quiet a few upset shouts from the customers. Runo had been forced to tolerate it while her parents stayed safely in the back. She shook her head as she pressed against the grease, which was being stubborn. And her patience was just about gone. At least it would be Christmas in a week.

She looked up, glaring at the door, which was decorated with several Christmas lights. The lights helped to lift her spirits, but it couldn't help the knots of worry in her stomach. She sighed. "Where are you, Julie?" she whispered, giving up on the grease. Dan and Barron had just left for New Vestroia, as Mira betrayed them and left with the Vexos. Alice was going to spend Christmas with them, but she had decided to stay with her grandfather in Moscow. Julie had gone out to get some Hot Chocolate from Starbucks and bring Runo some of the cookies she liked. But Julie wasn't back yet.

She tossed the sponge into the sink and wiped her hands on her apron, then stacked the chairs on top of the tables. Just as she was placing the last one on the table nearest the door(she had been working towards the door because it was so cold there), a gust of frigid air swirled around her. She gasped, whirling around as the door slammed shut.

What she saw made her stumble back into the table in surprise. Dully, she was shocked that her parents didn't come running at the crash she made as the chairs toppled off the tables. Her eyes were wide as she tried to get her vocal cords to work, as she tried to call out for help. But, for some strange reason, they wouldn't obey her. They were frozen, just like the rest of her. Seconds stretched into minutes, then minutes into hours, it seemed. Then, something inside her stirred, and she had control over her body again. She whispered hoarsely the name of the person who had walked into the cafe, unable to actually say it. It was as if saying his name was a taboo, so her vocal cords had a limit.

"Spectra..." The Pyrus Vexos smirked at her, his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly. His mechanical eye did all the rest to make his facial expression appear malicious. His posture was that of leisure, both of his arms dangling limply at his sides. He appeared totally relaxed. That was what made Runo the most wary of him. She glanced behind her, cursing in her mind when she realized that she was up against the table, and therefore landlocked. She turned back to the Pyrus brawler and glared at him, summoning a spark of courage that grew into a well fed flame.

"What do you want?" she snarled, taking in Gus at his side, who seemed to be just as relaxed. She glanced at them again, noting that they were both covered in snow. _What the heck were they doing in that snow storm_? Runo could only guess. She sighed and brushed past them angrily, surprised that they let her pass since he had kidnapped her before.

"Is that how you greet all of your customers?" Spectra asked casually. Runo stiffened, turning around and glaring at him.

"It's after hours. I don't get customers after 5 o'clock, smart guy," Runo snapped, taking off her apron and hanging it on a hook. "So, since you are, technically, not a customer, what do you want?"

"A little harsh, aren't you?" Spectra smirked. Runo glared daggers at him but he didn't seem fazed. Neither did Gus. Runo felt a flicker of fear attempt to douse her flame of courage. Why were they here anyway? Spectra didn't seem in a rush to get to the point so Runo casually(or tried to casually) move behind the counter. She just wanted to put something between her and the feathered freak.

"Look. I don't know why you're here. Dan's not here. I don't have a Bakugan. What reason would you have for coming here?" Runo asked.

"The snow," Gus said simply. Runo glanced outside, well aware of the growing amount of the freezing white blanket outside. There had to be at least a foot on the ground already. "There's a little bit too much snow for us to keep wandering around. So, we came here. At least it's warm."

"Yeah, well, I suggest you find some other place to stay right now," Runo said, trying to sound calm. "After you kidnapped me, how could you expect to find yourself welcome here?"

"Oh, we're not staying," Spectra said smoothly. And malevolently. Runo stared at him, then, without thinking, ducked down behind the counter, rolling under one of the shelves. She grabbed the ends of her pigtails and pinned them close to her chest, knowing that he would come around and pull her out from under her hiding spot. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for him to pull her from the niche. But his hand never came. She blinked, then rolled out from under the shelf. Thankfully, when she had swept earlier, she had swept there, and didn't collect any dust bunnies. She glanced back at Spectra, and he stood there with Gus as he had before. Runo quickly covered up her disappearance.

"What? I twisted my ankle. Get over it." She moved to grab the broom, and then she heard Spectra take a step. She turned to find him flying through the air toward her. She gasped, then quickly swung the broom in front of her, succeeding in thwacking him on the head. He was forced to the side and she blinked, then held the broom tightly in her hands, ready to strike again. "Get out! Now! I'll call the police!" she shouted, then cursed silently. She should have done that in the first place! She made a face of annoyance and then Spectra leaped at her again, prompting her to swing at him – again. She made contact with his side this time, which wasn't as effective. It still managed to slow him down, though, and she managed to slip past him as he lunged at her.

She dove around the entrance to the counter, dodging Gus's grip by jabbing him in the side with the end of the broom and moving to the door back into her house. She yanked it open and then quickly shut it behind her, twisting the lock and forcing a chair in front of the door knob. _It won't hold for long_, the annoying voice in her head chirped. _Shut up_, Runo thought fearfully, dashing toward the kitchen in her house, searching for her parents. Instead, she found a note on the table that read, "Gone shopping. We'll be back in an hour. Hopefully the snow will have stopped!"

"Now why would anyone go out in a snow storm?" Runo grumbled. Then, she saw the phone. The _phone_. She lunged for it, snatching it off the hook. She then dove up the stair case, shut her bedroom door and locked it from the inside, and then ducked into her parents' room. Quickly, she turned the lock on that, too, and then silently dove into their bathroom, locking that door as well. Then she ducked into the closet holding the towels after carefully placing them into the bathtub to make room for herself. _Then_ she dialed the phone.

But when it rang, she realized she hadn't called the police station, but instead Dan's cell phone! She slapped her head in annoyance as his answering machine played and she hung up, then dialed the number for the police. "Hello?" she asked softly.

"This is Wardington Police, what is the problem?" the answerer asked.

"Two teenage boys broke into my cafe while I was cleaning up. I'm Runo Misaki. My parents went out grocery shopping and aren't home and I managed to hide in my parents room. I need help!" she whispered frantically.

"Hold on, I'm dispatching a few officers right now," the lady on the other line said. "Where is your cafe?"

"It's near the main rode, Misaki is the name," Runo whispered nervously, trying not to panic. With the snow, it might be impossible for the police to reach her in time. "Please, tell them to hurry. It won't be long before they find me – and these guys aren't interested in robbery. They're interested in kidnapping!"

"How do you know?" the lady asked.

"One of them kidnapped me before, a few months ago, but a friend of mine saved me before it got out of hand. And they practically told me!" Runo hissed, panic starting to cloud her senses. "Hurry!"

"They're doing the best they can, Miss Misaki," the lady said, then was silent for a second. She hissed inwardly. "Can you hold out for a little while? Do you think they'll find you?"

"I'm not sure...is the snow too much of a problem?" Runo dreaded the answer. Was she imagining the footsteps on the stairs?

"It will make getting to your house harder, Runo," the lady said, trying to remain calm. "Do you have anything to defend yourself with?"

"I... had a broom, but... I must have... dropped it somewhere," Runo said shakily, hearing footsteps coming closer to the room. "I can hear their footsteps – they're in the hallway," she whispered.

"Where are you again?" the lady asked.

"I'm in my parent's bathroom. I locked the door outside – in the hallway, and I also locked the one to the bathroom. I'm in a cabinet," Runo whispered, trying not to hyperventilate.

"Just stay calm," the lady said softly. "The police should be there in a few minutes."

"Alright," Runo breathed. Then, the squeaking of her parent's door filled the air and Runo held her breath.

"Are you still there?" the lady asked.

"Yeah," Runo breathed almost silently. "They're in my parents' bedroom."

"Stay quiet. Tap the mouth piece of the phone every so often so I know you're still there," the lady directed. Runo made a small sound and detected the soft sound of feet on carpet, searching the room. She remained like that for 45 seconds while the intruder poked around the room outside, then she tapped the phone. She thought she could hear sirens.

Then the doorknob rattled. Runo froze, holding her breath in terror. The lady on the other end of the phone must have heard it too, for Runo could hear her shouting in the background for quiet. The sirens were growing louder. Each second felt like an hour to Runo, the fear in her stomach beginning to consume her. Then, something clicked in the lock mechanism, and the door silently slid open. Runo's slight breathing sounded through the phone, alerting the lady that she was still there.

The sound of boots on the tile floor of the bathroom sounded like dropping bombs to Runo. Each one assaulted her, bringing her panic up to critical. It took all of her concentration not to scream, or move, or even twitch. The slightest movement or sound might bring about her demise, she knew.

The footsteps fell silent. Runo held her breath, waiting to see if the intruder had given up. But the shadow over the small strip of light that shone through the cabinet doors told otherwise. She had been caught.

"Runo." Runo lashed out with her legs, hard, against the door to the cabinet, sending the door flying outward with a cry. Spectra's mask flew off his face, landing on the linoleum floor a few feet away. He himself was also forced back and Runo sprung out of the cabinet in a panic, dashing toward the door of the bathroom.

"He found me," she shouted into the phone. But she could hear the sirens! Yes! She knew she wasn't out of the woods yet, but she was as good as safe. She dashed out of her parent's room, her sock-clad feet sliding over the wood floor of the hallway. Gus lunged at her but she ducked and he missed, instead crashing into the wall with a grunt. Runo reached her room, ducking into it and locking the door, realizing that Gus must have unlocked it in their search for her. She quickly dove over her bed and pushed it in front of the door, succeeding just before she heard the rattling of Gus's hand on the doorknob.

She then ducked under her bed, deciding that that would not be expected, since in order for them to get in, they'd have to move the bed. "I managed, to get away. Sorta," Runo panted. "I'm hiding in my room, under my bed, with the door shut and locked and blocked with my bed."

"Okay, Runo," the lady said. "The police should be there very soon. Just sit tight for a little longer!"

"Mhm," Runo mumbled, shaking with fear. _Dang, I wish Dan were here... or Julie... or even Marucho..._ Then, the lock clocked and Runo bit her lip, stiffening. The door slowly pushed open, forcing the bed to the side. Runo swallowed hard, moving her body so that she moved under the bed, concealed. Then, Spectra and Gus walked in. Runo could see their boots and the ends of Spectra's coat. They walked past her, then split. Gus walked over to her desk while Spectra took her closet. Runo held her breath and tapped the phone.

The sirens grew louder, tearing through the snow. Runo crossed her fingers. _Come on, just a little longer! Don't let them find me for a little longer!_

"She's not in the closet," Spectra said.

"Nor is she under her desk. She had to have come in here, though," Gus responded. "Did she go out the window?"

"No, she would have landed on the ground below. She's not stupid enough to do that, and besides, is the middle of a snow storm."

"Then where could she be?" The two were silent for a moment and Runo could hear the blood rushing in her ears. _Just a little longer, just a little longer, just a little longer_, she though over and over, closing her eyes tightly. She opened them again when she detected a footfall on the carpet – in her direction. She had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming in frustration. He crossed the distance between where he was standing and her bed while Runo pushed herself as far away from him as possible, toward the other side of the bed.

She squirmed out from under it, crouching in the little space between her bed and the wall. Runo hoped that the dust ruffles would conceal her. _Dang! What would Dan do_? she found herself unconsciously thinking. She bit her lip, bracing her leg against the wall. Then she pushed off flying up. She landed on the bed then jumped off barreling into Gus, who gasped as he went down. She got to her feet whirling around as Spectra straightened up. He must have been looking under the bed for her. He had a telltale smirk on his face and Runo's insides clenched.

Then Gus grabbed her legs, pulling her down(**AGH THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY COMMA KEY!**). Runo yelped, struggling. Then, something wrapped around her arms. She gasped, looking at Spectra, who had wrapped a tangle of Christmas Tree lights around her arms. "Are you kidding me? Christmas lights?" Once the initial shock that they were using lights evaporated and she realized they had her, she screamed. "Let go! Get off!"

"I don't think so," Gus smirked, pulling out a small rod about six inches long and an inch in diameter. Runo stiffened as the wires around her arms tightened, pulling them over her head.

"You feathered freak, let go!" Runo screeched. She kicked wildly, managing to catch Gus's wrist, knocking the rod out of his hand. Gus hissed in irritation but Spectra shook his head.

"We don't need it. Come on, we can take her as it is," he said. Gus nodded and Runo froze, then struggled with renewed passion, not caring if she broke the wires or if she cut herself. She had to get free! "Hurry up and align the transporter," Spectra ordered, pulling Runo to her feet and twisting her arms behind her back. She yanked her arms from his grip and tried to jump over her bed, but they caught her before she could get far.

"Let me go! Shoot, let me go!" she shouted, panic flooding her senses. She froze as Spectra's arm came in front of her neck, pinning her to his chest. She felt the Christmas lights fall from her arms and she tried to pull his arm from her throat, but it was no use. She gasped as her body started to disintegrate and struggled again. "No! Shoot! Dan!" she screamed finally as her form disappeared and she watched her room disappear before her eyes, just as the door behind her burst open and an armed group of police officers stormed into the room. She caught a fleeting glance of their eyes widening in surprise, and then they were gone.

The three of them appeared on board a ship. Spectra's ship. Runo was frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Spectra removed his arm from her neck and she sank to her knees, staring at her legs folded underneath her. _no... this can't be happening_, she thought in horror. _He can't have... Dan... no... Dan... I'm sorry... he got me..._ She started as something warm and wet fell onto the back of her fist, curled on her lap. She blinked and more landed. That was when she realized she was crying. She closed her eyes, allowing the tears to fall silently. She felt like she had failed Dan. She had let him down. And now she was at the mercy of the enemy... and that probably meant that Dan was, too.

"And it's almost Christmas," Runo whispered. Then, suddenly, she felt like she had been punched in the gut. She gasped, but her stomach didn't hurt. She blinked, looking around, and understood. She narrowed her eyes, then closed them and briskly brushed her tears away. She stood up, fists clenched at her sides. She turned around to face Spectra and Gus, who both were standing there, watching her. She glanced at Gus, then stepped up to him. He blinked at her, then gasped as her hand came sharply into contact with his cheek.

"What the heck? Let me go, you jerk!"

"I'm not the one to decide that. And you don't go slapping people!" he said to her.

"I can slap someone if they've just been rude!" Runo snarled, slipping a hand into her pocket. Gus took a step back and she glared at him. "Oh relax! It's a tube of lip gloss!" He blinked at her and rolled his eyes. She glared back at him and pulled out a small tube – not of lip gloss, but how was he, a Vestal, supposed to know that?

She whipped up her arm and quickly pressed down on the top, sending a spray of Pepper into his eyes. He yelled in pain, sinking into a crouch, holding his eyes. Runo whirled around, sprinting from them. She smirked at her hand. "I forgot I had that," she muttered. "I should have used that to begin with."

"Get her!" Spectra's voice slashed through the air, making Runo's stomach clench. She glanced around, then skidded to a halt as an armed guard held a 2 foot long rod with glowing rings in front of her. She stared wide eyed, then whirled around and came face to face with another one. She cursed silently as they all surrounded her. Spectra walked calmly up to her, Gus trailing behind while tears streamed down his face. He stood in front of her, his cold mechanical gaze meeting her defiant one. He held out a hand and Runo glared at him. "Now."

"No."

"Runo..."

"Yeah?"

"Give it to me if you want to see Dan again." Runo gasped, her eyes wide open in horror. He smirked, holding out his hand again. Runo, grudgingly, placed the bottle of Pepper Spray on his gloved palm. His smirk grew wider and he pocketed it, then turned and beckoned. Runo knew what he meant and scowled, but followed. The guards parted to let her through and she stared at the floor, wondering what Spectra had in store for her.

Gus came behind her, wiping his eyes. He glared at her back, then spoke. "What was that stuff?"

"Pepper Spray," Runo said shortly. "It's supposed to ward off _creeps_."

"Quiet back there," Spectra called. Runo made a face but listened while Gus was silent.

After a few minutes of navigating through narrow corridors(Runo had lost count of the many twists and turns), they arrived at a room with a metal door. It opened when Spectra pressed a few keys on the keypad outside. The door opened quietly, revealing a transporter. Gus grabbed Runo's arm and pulled her forward. Runo, of course, resisted, but after a look from Spectra she hissed, but walked forward. Gus led her to the transporter itself and pushed her onto it. She gasped, tripping. He jumped onto it, and then Spectra pressed a button on a control panel on the wall. Runo's form started to disintegrate, as did Gus's, and they vanished.

Runo was getting sick of the forced teleportations, and she stood up, surprised to find herself outside a metal door. Gus walked over to a keypad on the wall, pressed a few keys, and the door opened. Gus stood to the side and Runo caught the hint. She sighed, walking past him into the room. The door closed behind her with a mechanical "whir", making her whirl around. She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting out. Instead, she took in her surroundings.

There was a bed against one wall, made out of the metal material of the floor. A mattress had been placed upon it with a few blankets. A door branched off the left wall, which Runo assumed was the bathroom. There were no windows. The floor was a sandy color, as were the walls. There was a table in the far corner of the room with a chair and some pencils and paper. There was also what looked like a laptop on top. Runo stared at it for a moment, then turned away.

She walked over to the door to the bathroom and tried to turn the doorknob, but was met with resistance. Runo blinked in confusion and tried again, but it seemed the door was locked. She knocked on it and heard a yelp. She stumbled back in surprise, landing on the floor. "Spectra? I'll be out in a minute," a voice called. Runo froze. She knew that voice. The sound of water running reached her ears, but she didn't realize it. She was too shocked.

_But she betrayed us_, Runo thought, staring at the door. Then, the doorknob clicked, and the door swung open. The girl standing above Runo looked around, then glanced down at the ground. Her blue eyes widened in horror. Everything about her was familiar to Runo. The spiky hair, the brown jumpsuit, the white boots. Mira and Runo's eyes met then and nothing seemed to exist besides the two of them. They stayed like that for a minute, then Runo adjusted her position and Mira gasped.

"Runo?"

"Mira?"

"**He he... I think I'll leave it there," Breezyfeather smirks. Gus and Spectra stare at her and shrug while Runo sighed. Dan glares and Shun looks indifferent, hanging from a pole attached to the ceiling. Mira looks at Runo and grins. Runo grins back while Fabia, Alice, and Julie come up.**

"**I have some surprises for you to come," Breezyfeather says, grinning evily. Runo and the girls blink at each other.**

"**I can't be in it!" Fabia says.**

"**Hm... you're right. You're spared from this one," Breezyfeather grumbles. "Next one will have you! Or at least, the next chapter in "Dan and Runo's LegendProphecy" will be about you. I have to go back and edit it because the actual episode about that came out... yeah... anyway, Night!"**

"**Night... wait it's only 10:30!" Dan says.**

"**You're point is...?"**

**(I was having issues finding the quote key... he he... FAIL!)**

**Review, please! Reviews are a author's bread and butter!**


	2. Questions answered and Rescuing 3

"**Whoa!" Breezyfeather says, staring at the computer screen. Shun walks over and blinks.**

"**That's a lot of emails from ."**

"**Ya think?"**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH THOSE OF YOU THAT REVIEWED MY STORY! It really means a lot! Thank you so much! I'll try to update really fast for you guys, okay? :)**

"Runo?"

"Mira?"

Mira couldn't believe it. She had to be dreaming. Dreaming. Yeah, that made sense, she decided. She must be feeling so upset about betraying her friends that her subconscious was conjuring up a false image of Runo. She sighed, closing her eyes. _When I open my eyes again, she'll be gone_. She stood there with her eyes closed for a minute. But wait. _She spoke before... in my dreams none of them spoke... they just glared at me. Runo?_ Mira opened her eyes and stared at Runo, who looked as surprised as she was.

Mira was here? Why w as she being locked in a room like Runo was right now? Runo wondered. Mira had betrayed them. Runo had seen it with her own eyes. She had seen Mira walk away from them and dive into the portal in front of her brother. Her brother. More like the cretin that decided he'd kidnap any girl of his choice. Runo stared into Mira's eyes, trying to make sense of this. Mira blinked, then backed away. Runo blinked in confusion, sitting up.

"You must hate me," Mira whispered, her back hitting the door to the bathroom. She jumped but didn't move to look. Her eyes were shining with tears that looked like they'd spill over any second. Runo shook her head, getting to her feet.

"No. I don't hate you. Mira..."

"No! After I betrayed you... how can you not hate me?"

"Mira you're my friend! I can't hate you!"

"You must!"

"I don't! Plus it seems like you're a prisoner, too!" Mira froze, glancing at the door. Her blue eyes flicked back to Runo's and she sighed, closing her eyes again. When she opened them, Runo could see that they had cleared of tears and were now full of clarity and a commanding air.

"I'm not a prisoner, but I might as well be. I only betrayed you to find my brother and maybe bring him back. But most of the Vexos don't trust me. Spectra... I lost a battle with Spectra and the stakes were a little high... and I wish I hadn't lost that battle, but his Cyborg Helios is way to strong."

"Cyborg Helios? What were the stakes?" Runo asked, standing up. "What happened since you left us?"

She sighed and walked over to the bed, motioning to Runo to follow. She pressed a button on the wall and a bed on the floor slid out of Mira's. Mira sat down on her bed while Runo sat down on her own. "After I left, the Vexos weren't that happy with me joining them, and Shadow showed me that they had Shun, Marucho, and Ace captured... but when Dan and Barron came, I asked Spectra to free them and he did. He said I was in his debt. Later I challenged him to a brawl. The stakes... if I won, he'd become my brother again..." She trailed off, clearly not wanting to get to the next part.

"What would happen if you lost?" Runo asked softly. Mira sighed and Wilda popped out on her shoulder.

"If she lost, she'd be under Spectra's command. She'd do anything he said," he said. Mira nodded.

"What happened?" Runo asked, fearing the answer. Mira was silent, then spoke, clearly upset.

"I lost to his most powerful Bakugan," she whispered. "Pyrus Cyborg Helios. And you know what the worst part about that is?" Runo looked into her eyes, which were still slightly red from crying. "He fused Helios... with mechanical parts. He's literally a cyborg!" Runo was frozen in horror.

"His own partner?" she whispered hoarsely. Mira nodded.

"And he didn't even use full power to defeat us," Wilda said. Runo gasped, staring at Wilda.

"No way," she stammered. "How could he do that to his battle partner?"

"They're both power crazy," Mira said softly, regaining that air of leadership, even though it was muffled slightly. "Helios and Spectra are obsessed with power. Spectra wants to create the Ultimate Bakugan and rule the universe. Helios wants more and more power so that he can challenge those that aren't as powerful as he. Its messed up."

"He sounds like Masquerade more and more," Runo muttered, bringing her legs up to her chest.

"Masquerade was... part of Alice, right?" Mira asked. Runo nodded.

"He was on Naga's side. But now he's... I dunno what he's doing right now." The two were quiet for a minute, then Mira seemed to realize that it was impossible for Runo to be there.

"Runo, what are you even doing here?" Mira asked. Runo scowled.

"Spectra kidnapped me. I called the police and because it was snowing they couldn't get there in time. I managed to spray Gus with pepper spray though," Runo grinned. Mira grinned at that, too, then her face darkened.

"Do you know why they got you?"

"I think they wanna get to Dan... but I'm not sure, no," Runo said. "Why did they put me in here with you?"

"I can't even guess," Mira muttered. "Maybe they want you to calm down or something. No matter what, give them a hard time!"

"Will do," Runo said with a smile. The two laughed and Mira got up, walking over to another door that Runo hadn't noticed. She ducked inside, then poked her head out.

"Do you want something to drink?" Runo was about to refuse when she noticed how raw her throat felt from screaming. She nodded and followed Mira into the room. With a gasp of surprise, she realized that there was a kitchen back there! She blinked, staring around.

"Are you sure that I'm a prisoner?" Runo asked, looking around.

"They wouldn't kidnap you if you weren't," Mira stated with a shrug. She pulled out two mugs and filled them with a dark liquid from what looked like a coffee machine. Runo blinked as she handed one to her. "It's hot chocolate. I stole some packets of it from Earth," Mira said. Runo's eyes widened and she quickly took a sip, smiling when she realized that it was, in fact, hot chocolate. Then, her face fell. Her parents must have gotten home by now, she thought. _They must be worried sick..._ And what about Dan?

She placed the mug on the counter, looking troubled. Mira blinked at her. "Do you think that Spectra or one of the others will make Dan come looking for me? Into a trap?" Runo asked, quite obviously upset. Mira looked down at her mug and took a sip.

"I'm not going to lie to you, because it makes sense that they would. Dan's not as stupid as he was before. He's not going to go blundering into a random battle with Spectra after what happened with Drago a few weeks ago," Mira said. "He'd come up with a strategy before heading out and he'd actually have a chance against Cyborg Helios. That I know for sure. And if Spectra had you with him, as a hostage, Dan would be forced to do his bidding."

That wasn't what Runo had wanted to hear. Her eyes had widened, then closed as she knew it would be inevitable if she were at the mercy of her enemies – which she, sadly, was. Runo sighed, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. "It's almost Christmas," she said sadly. "I was going to celebrate with my family in a week. But it looks like that isn't going to happen, is it?" Mira was silent. "Do you know what Christmas is?"

"It's on the 25 of December, right?" Mira asked. Runo nodded. "We celebrate something like what humans call Christmas on that day. We call it the First Feast, the first time anyone on Vestal actually had enough food for a banquet. We celebrate in a similar fashion as you humans: presents, a feast, going to the temples. It's a really cool thing to be a part of."

"Will the Vexos celebrate it?"

"I think they will. It's an international holiday. They'll probably celebrate with Hydron and the rest of them. They may even leave New Vestroia all together to celebrate with King Zenoheld."

"Zenoheld?" Runo asked.

"Yeah, he's Prince Hydron's father. I've heard rumors that he's cruel, so I don't exactly want to go and eat dinner with him. I mean, really. I'm his enemy. _We're _his enemy."

"You said it, Mira," Wilda exclaimed. Mira smiled at Wilda and took a gulp of her hot chocolate, walking back into the main room. Runo followed.

"It looks like you're going to be here for a while, Runo," Mira said, placing her mug on the desk. Runo looked at her mug, refusing to meet Mira's eyes. "I guess that you might wanna get some rest. It's 9:00 your time." Runo blinked in surprise, looking up at Mira. That much time had passed? Wait, how did Mira know that, anyway?

"How did you know that?"

"Barron bought me a watch. How he got the money I'll never guess, but I set it to the correct time on Earth and synchronized a setting on my Gauntlet to do the same thing. That way, even if I lose the watch, I'll still know what time it is on Earth," Mira said with a smile. Runo grinned. "I've got an extra set of pajamas. We're in Gama City so it gets warm here sometimes."

"Gama City... that's the one with the lava, right?" Runo asked. Mira nodded. Runo sighed as Mira tossed her the extra pajamas, which consisted of a white tee shirt and blue shorts, as well as a clean pair of underwear. Runo nodded her thanks and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She glanced around, spotting a toilet, a sink, a large shower. She placed the clothes on the toilet lid and turned on the shower, waiting for it to warm up while taking out her hair ties and undressing, then easing herself into it with a contented sigh. Maybe being here wouldn't be too bad.

The second she thought of it, she shook the thought away. _It's only okay because Mira's been here. You were very lucky to get that, Runo_, Runo thought as she found a bottle of what she assumed as shampoo. She lathered it into her bright blue hair, causing little bubbles to float around. The hot water gushing from the nozzle on the ceiling scattered water droplets all over the white walls and glass shower doors. Runo relished every second of it.

As soon as the shampoo was rinsed out, she laced the conditioner through her hair and grabbed a bar of soap, dragging it along her arms and shoulders. The warm water running over her and her hair was soothing, and she could almost forget that she was a prisoner. But just as she thought that she was at home, enjoying a nice long shower, the truth her her in the gut once more, filling her with a fear that chilled her to the bone. She was a captive. But not just anyone's captive. She was Spectra's captive, and she knew without a doubt what he was going to use her for.

(**He he, I'm evil. Here's Dan! What will he think of this?**)

Dan heard the buzzing in the control room, where Ace, Shun, Barron and Marucho all were at the moment. Ace probably wanted to kill Dan for letting Mira join the Vexos, and tensions at the moment were wired tight. But, when Shun called out for him, he knew that something must be wrong. Seriously wrong. The buzzing meant that a message had been received. Dan could only wonder what its contents revealed.

"I wonder what this is about," Drago said to Dan. Dan didn't respond, instead ducked into the main room.

"What's up?" Dan called out sharply, noticing all of the others clustered around the main screen. "¿Qué es la problema?"

"What?" Barron asked, staring at him. He and Ace were sitting in their control seats, staring at the screens in front of them. Now they both looked up.

"What's the problem?"

"Since when do you know Spanish?" Shun asked. Dan glared at him.

"That's all I know."

"Whatever. Guys, look at this," Ace said, pulling up a screen. Suddenly, Julie and Alice's faces popped up, looking very worried.

"Dan! Shun, Marucho!" Julie cried.

"Hey guys," Dan said with a grin. His face showed the confusion that Runo wasn't there and Alice noticed.

"What's up, girls?" Shun asked with a smile. Barron's delight showed on his face while Marucho also seemed happy. Ace blinked at them.

"This is Ace," Marucho said. "Ace, that's Julie and Alice."

"Nice to meet you," Ace said, glancing curiously at the Darkus battler for the Bakugan Battle Brawlers. She looked worried and Dan began to grow concerned at Runo's absence. Why were Julie and Alice together if Runo wasn't with them?

"Where's Runo?" Dan asked.

"Runo's been kidnapped!" Julie shouted.

"She was taken yesterday during a snow storm," Alice explained, clearly upset. "Her parents went out to get some groceries and Julie was getting a hot chocolate for both of them at Starbucks and some of Runo's favorite cookies. The Wardington Police got a call from her saying that two people broke into her house."

"Are you serious?" Shun asked.

"That's terrible!" Baron cried. Dan was frozen in shock, but none of them seemed to notice.

"I'm not done," Alice said. "They played back the call for us, and she said that two teenage boys broke into my house. She know they're interested in kidnapping her. The lady on the other end of the line asked how she knew that and she said that they kidnapped her a few months ago. I think that was when you guys came back from New Vestroia and -"

"Spectra got her," Dan whispered, the color draining out of face. Ace and the others exchanged looks of horror. "We've gotta get her back!" Dan shouted.

"Yes, I agree. But first, we should get the girls here," Marucho said.

"Huh? Why?" Dan asked.

"If Spectra went after Runo, then the girls might be next," Shun said, understanding Marucho's principal. Ace and Barron nodded in agreement. Dan gave a tense jerk of his head to show that he understood, then turned to Alice.

"Can you get Dr. Micheal to open a gate near us? We'll go through with some Gauntlets and bring you guys back," Marucho said. Julie nodded while Alice got up, walking away to find her grandfather.

"When did this happen again?" Dan asked, obviously trying to keep a handle on his panic.

"Yesterday. She was cleaning up the cafe during a snowstorm, and there was no one else in the house," Julie said, trying to keep calm. "Then when I came back, the police were surrounding the place and I heard a yell. It was Runo. I only caught the last word, though."

"What did she say?" Barron asked.

"She called out to Dan." They all turned to look at Dan, who had his fists clenched at his sides and was staring at the floor. It was obvious that he was crying silently, but no one mentioned it, knowing that if they did he would probably clobber them. And none of them could blame him. His girl friend had been kidnapped by the enemy and would probably be used as a bargaining chip against them. Plus, who knew what Spectra or the Vexos might do to her?

"Next week is Christmas," Julie said softly. Dan blinked in surprise, tears falling silently onto the floor.

"Really?" Marucho asked.

Suddenly, breaking glass was heard. Julie gasped, looking around. Alice shouted something, and then came a sharp sound of metal on metal. "Julie, back up!" Alice cried. Julie stood up and backed away from the computer. Dan and the others looked up in surprise, Dan quickly wiping the tears from his cheeks when no one was looking. Light filled the room and Alice and her grandfather appeared, Alice holding her transporter card.

"They're here! The Vexos! Come on, we have to hurry," Alice said. Her grandfather was locking the door to the bedroom and Julie helped him push her desk in front of it, then her bed. "Dan, guys, we'll all have to come. Grandfather should be able to mask our trail to New Vestroia. Give us you're coordinates."

"On it," Ace said, typing commands into the computer. Barron hurried to do that as well, and then something popped up on his screen. He typed a bunch of different commands and then hit send. Alice clicked something, then scribbled on a piece of paper. A bang sounded nearby and Alice jumped, but finished writing it down.

"Grandfather! Julie!" she cried. "We'll see you soon, Dan," she whispered, then the bright light filled the room. When it receded, they had vanished, but the bangs continued.

"Close the window," Marucho said. Ace nodded, he and Barron both typing commands into the computer.

"I'm erasing any trace of this chat on her computer. Otherwise they'll figure out that we were talking to them. She may not be able to re-attain the connection, but if she got it once, she'll get it again," Ace said. Then, the window closed and the Brawlers were forced to wait in a nervous silence.

"I'm going outside to wait for the gate," Dan announced, dashing out the door.

"Dan, wait!" Shun cried, following him. He snatched three gauntlets as he sprinted after Dan, calling, "We'll take care of them! You guys stay here!" The two ran outside, waiting for the gate to open. Shun grabbed Dan's arm and he glared at Shun, his eyes red. "If they're going after the girls, they might be around here, too," Shun said quietly. Dan sighed and nodded, then the two stood back to back.

"I guess that having a ninja for a best friend comes in handy sometimes," Dan grinned. Shun smirked and pressed one of the Gauntlets against Dan's hand. He grabbed it while putting on his own. Shun did the same, and then the gate opened. The two nodded at each other and dove through it, knowing that it closed behind them. They emerged in Dr. Micheal's lab, landing on their feet with practiced ease. They glanced around, taking in Dr. Micheal operating the device while Julie made sure all the windows and doors were locked. Alice was helping her grandfather, typing in commands. They all looked up as the device powered down.

"Dan! Shun," Alice cried happily. Dan grinned, happy to see them again despite the situation.

"Come on, we have to go," Shun said, tossing her a Darkus Gauntlet. She caught it, placing it onto her arm like Dan and Shun were wearing theirs. Julie was given the Sub-Terra one, while Dr. Micheal got an Aquos one. He quickly typed another series of commands in, and then dashed over to the transporter, which was powering up.

"The gate will stay open for only five minutes on the other side. Here it will close after 60 seconds. We have to hurry," he said as the transporter opened. "Come on! The clock's ticking now!"

He stood there, waiting for Alice and Julie to go through. "Go," Dan shouted. Julie and Alice nodded, jumping through.

55 seconds.

"Hurry, Dr. Micheal," Dan said. Dr. Micheal stared at him for a minute. "Don't worry, we'll be right behind you," Dan insisted. He nodded, diving through.

47 seconds.

"Come on, time to go," Shun said. Dan nodded at him, then a bang caught their attention. They gasped, staring at the door as it rattled. Then, it burst open, revealing Spectra, Gus, Volt, and Shadow, who's leg was in the air from kicking the door in. Dan and Shun gasped, glancing back at the gate.

30 seconds.

"Come on," Shun shouted. Dan was staring at Spectra, who was staring at him. They all seemed frozen except for Shun. Dan's fists were clenched at his sides and he now brought them up in a fighting position.

"Spectra," he snarled. Spectra smirked.

"So you heard."

"You're gonna pay!" Dan shouted, starting toward the Pyrus Vexos.

20 seconds.

"Dan!" Shun yelled, grabbing Dan's arm. He yanked his arm out of Shun's grip and ran toward Spectra, shouting in anger. "Dan!" Shun cried in shock.

15 seconds. Shadow was laughing while Volt and Gus just watched. Shun hissed, using his ninja skills to jump in front of Dan, planting his feet firmly on the floor and blocking Dan. He grabbed him around the stomach and jumped back in front of the transporter.

8 seconds.

"What are you doing?" Dan shouted.

"Getting you back to New Vestroia! If we don't go now we'll be stuck here!" Shun yelled, pushing Dan into the transporter. He shouted in protest as he was sucked back into it. Shun glared back at Spectra before jumping in himself and the gate closed behind him.

Spectra smirked, turning. "They beat us to it. The secrets out now. Looks like we're gonna have to step up our game."

"Yes, Master Spectra," Gus said, following Spectra out of the lab. Volt turned silently, glaring back at Shadow, who still was laughing like a hyena.

"Lets go," Volt said expressionlessly and Shadow followed him out of the lab, kicking the door closed behind him. All of their forms appeared to disintegrate, and then they vanished.

"**I'll leave it at that," Breezyfeather says. "I have to go do my chores so that my mom will stop nagging me. -.-"**

"**Cleaning the bathroom?" Shun asked.**

"**Yeah."**

"**Didn't your dog get into the garbage again?" Dan said.**

"**Yeah. That's why I don't want to clean it."**

"**Well who else is going to?" Gus asked.**

"**Shut up."**

**Again, thank you so much for the reviews. I really appreciate it. And since I get annoyed by people always saying "Review" at the end of the story, I'm only gonna say it in the first chapter. The only thin you'll hear about reviews from how on is me thanking you for them. So, thanks again! And I'll update as soon as I can. Hopefully by Wednesday. I get out of school on Thursday, so I'll probably have another chapter after that up on Friday. I hope I can make this go according to schedule. Thanks again! Until next chapter!**


	3. Breakfast

"**Okay! Chapter 3!" Breezyfeather yells. "Oops. In the last chapter I messed up the tenses at the outro... whoops."**

"**Smooth," Shadow laughs. Breezyfeather takes out a wooden Kendo sword and whacks Shadow in the head with it. "Ow!"**

"**Not the golf club?" Shun asks.**

"**I lost it in my room somewhere. Plus this is a slightly-less-lethal weapon," she says.**

"**No comment."**

**YAY THE NEXT EPISODE OF BAKUGAN GUNDALIAN INVADERS IS OUT! KAZARINA YOU WITCH! DAN YAY YOU'RE AWAKE! … Wow I really need a life... xD**

Shun landed easily on the hard packed dirt floor of New Vestroia, his heart pounding at that close encounter with the Vexos. A quick glance around revealed that Dan was on his hands and knees, shaking from anger. Julie and Alice were standing close to each other, looking around curiously. Dr. Micheal was staring at the trailer and looked up as Shun landed there. Then, the gate closed behind him.

"Shun, why did you stop me? He could have taken me to Runo," Dan asked, standing up and glaring at Shun. Shun sighed.

"If you had stayed, they would have left you. Or, Spectra would have kidnapped you. We have to think these things through," Shun said. Dan still looked mad, but he closed his eyes and nodded. Alice and Julie walked over, still looking around. Shun looked at them and grinned. "We barely escaped. We got lucky," Shun told them. They glanced at each other and nodded. "We should get inside. Come on."

"Okay," Alice said with a smile. Dr. Micheal heard them and walked over, allowing Shun and Dan to lead the way into the trailer. Easily, they navigated their way into the control room, the girls and Dr. Micheal marveling all the while. When they arrived, they were greeted by a happy Barron and Marucho, while Ace was too absorbed in whatever he was doing at his computer to notice that they walked in.

"We're back," Dan said in a bad mood. Then, he sighed. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay Dan," Marucho said, watching as he disappeared into the back of the trailer, mumbling something that sounded like, "Why did they have to take her just a week away from Christmas?" Marucho watched him go sympathetically. Then, he grinned at Julie and Alice, walking up to Dr. Micheal and shaking hands with him. "Welcome to New Vestroia! This is the base of the Bakugan Battle Brawler's Resistance!"

"Hi, guys," Barron said, getting out of his chair and walking over to Julie and Alice. Julie, they now noticed, had her roller skates in her hand, and she know bent down and strapped them to her feet. Ace looked up at that and shook his head, getting up, too.

"If you like roller skates, then boy do I have something for you," Ace said with a grin. Julie blinked, skating over to him. "Have you ever skated with roller blades?"

"Yeah, and I like them better, but if you're waiting tables it's best to have the best support," Julie said, following him. He led her over to a panel in the wall that rose up when he touched it. Julie stared in shock at the pair of roller blades that sat there and then gasped.

"No way! Those are so cool!" It was a pair of pure white roller blades with little crystal wings on the sides. They didn't have to be laced up. Instead, they looked like they were made of crystal and, when Julie put her hand next it, it glowed. Then, the crystal wings on the side turned brown, recognizing her brawling attribute as Sub-Terra. Julie squealed in happiness, glancing at the wheels, which were made of some hard, durable material. Maybe a special type of plastic.

"You can use them if you want," Ace said with a grin. Julie stared at him.

"You mean it?"

"Sure."

"Oh wow! Thank you!" Julie cried. She took them carefully out of the wall and sat down on the floor, pulling her own skates off. She slipped the other skates on easily, and her eyes widened when they shrank to fit her. Alice and Dr. Micheal watched with curious eyes as she got to her feet. Ace and Barron were grinning as she easily skated over to the other side of the room, and more quickly as well. She turned herself to stop and it came to an easy stop. She smiled. "These are great! Where did you get them?"

"They're made with Vestal Technology," Barron explained. "Vestal sells them, but since they're really expensive not many people buy them. And they're supper expensive because of what they can do."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked. Dr. Micheal was watching the skates intently, as if they would suddenly do something extraordinary. Ace grinned.

"Say Winged Crystal Road," Ace told her. Julie looked at him, then said it.

"Winged Crystal Road," she said. She yelped as a narrow path – about 2 feet long – flew out from under her skates, perfectly straight. She stared at it in surprise, then imagined it looping upward. It did just that. Alice and Dr. Micheal watched, stunned, as she pushed herself forward with the skates, following the path with ease. She grinned, bending the path around the room, making sure to stay low enough so that she wouldn't hit the ceiling.

"These are so awesome!" Julie cried.

"And since you're Sub-Terra," Barron said, "you can use them to go through certain walls. You might want to touch them first with your hand before trying to actually skate through them. Mira had that issue... she ended up unconscious on the floor and refused to use them again."

"I'll be careful," Julie vowed. She grinned. "Best Christmas present ever!"

"Alice," Barron said. Alice jumped and looked at him. "You have Masquerade's transporter card, so things shouldn't be too hard when it comes to finding Runo. But, I have something special for you, since Julie got the skates and because neither of you have Bakugan."

Barron led Alice over to a case in a different wall and opened it, then handed her a purple visor. She blinked at it. "Put it on," he said with a smile. Alice blinked again, then placed it over her eyes. Her fingers detected a rough piece of metal jutting out of the visor and she identified it to be a switch, so she pressed against it with her fingers. She gasped when she saw what popped up in front of her eyes. Barron was red!

"It shows heat signatures," Ace explained. "We don't usually need to use those. I had for the most part even forgotten that we had them, since we hid them away in case we were raided."

"Since we're gonna be going on a rescue mission, it seems appropriate that we use all of the things we can," Marucho smiled. Elfin popped out on his shoulder.

"We're gonna rescue Runo. We decided while Dan and Shun were getting you guys," she said.

"Elfin's right," Ingram announced, popping out on Shun's shoulder. "We can't abandon Runo."

"You got that right," Barron said.

"Mmhmm," Julie agreed.

"You bet," Alice said with a smile. Dr. Micheal nodded.

"Marucho," he said. Marucho looked up. "Would you mind explaining to me how this technology works, son?"

"Oh sure," Marucho said. "In fact, I'll give you all a tour!"

"Oh yeah, and Alice, if you were to slide those over you're ears, you'd be able to hear conversations from over a mile away. There is a tuning feature on it to let you select conversations that people are having," Barron said. Alice nodded, grinning.

"Hm? Where did Shun go?" Julie asked, looking around. They all glanced around the room, then Barron and Ace shrugged.

"He must have disappeared again," Ace said, sitting back down in his chair.

"He still randomly vanishes?" Alice asked. (**LOL, "A" for both Alice and Ace. Both are Darkus Brawlers. I just realized that.**)

"Yep," Barron grinned. "Come on, I'll show you guys were you can stay. We have some extra clothes: a Darkus and Sub-Terra uniform for the girls. Dr. Micheal, we have a few adult clothes, too."

"Alright," Dr. Micheal said. "Lead the way, Barron my boy."

Julie brought herself back down to the floor while Alice turned off her visor. They all followed Barron and Marucho out of the room while Ace watched them go. As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned his attention to his screen.

_During Runo's battle with Lars Lion_, he thought, pulling up a window, _she floated up and was able to deflect one of her attacks._ The window showed Runo floating up and making the arrow disintegrate. Ace moved on. _When Julie threw her Bakugan, she was able to invoke the power of Sub-Terra_. The new window now showed Julie throwing her Bakugan ball. She lifted her leg up into the air and the Sub-Terra energy flashed around her. _Alice was able to transform into Masquerade and use the power of Darkus_, he thought, watching her take off the mask and it vanish from her fingers. _Shun once used the power of Ventus to his advantage in a battle with Masquerade._ The screen showed Shun standing in the middle of a green tornado of Ventus energy. _Marucho has exemplary battling skills and a close link to his partner. Plus, he has endurance. That and his smarts make up for any power that he could have_, Ace decided, then, pulling up a screen, noticed something he hadn't before. When he finished his battle with Frosch, the light that had been dancing around him centered around his body like an aura. Ace grinned. _And then there's Dan. Dan's Bakugan, Drago, is able to harness the power of the Perfect Core. He has also been able to throw down his cards in a completely unique way. And he's been able to hold flaming cards in his hands. He has tremendous courage and loyalty, and extremely powerful battling skills._

"Ace, is it possible that these six are the ones the Ancients told you about?" Percival asked. Ace was silent, still staring at the screen. When he spoke, his voice was quiet.

"It's very possible. When then Ancients came to me in that dream, they spoke of six humans who can harness the power of the Six Attributes," Ace told him. "Julie, Marucho, and Dan don't really show it that much, but it is there. Like water, Marucho can effectively mold to his surroundings and use the opponents weaknesses to his advantage. He determines them first, and is able to easily flow from each attack to the next, wisely playing the cards he has. I think Frosch granted him some more enlightenment with his victory," he murmured. "Julie uses the earth to her advantage. She can camouflage her Bakugan to blend in with it's surroundings. She can have Gorem harness the power of the earth."

"Mira can do that too, can't she?" Percival asked. Ace tensed at the mention of her name.

"Not as effectively as Julie can. Mira is a little bit more hesitant."

"That's something that only you could pick up."

"Sh- shut up!" Ace's cheeks were red and he seemed annoyed, so he turned his attention back to the screen. "When Dan threw down his ability cards back then, he used Pyrus cards that caught fire in his hand. For other Pyrus battlers, that didn't happen, because they usually didn't throw their cards. Only Runo, Dan, and Shun really threw their cards. But he never got burned. Plus, his Bakugan is Pyrus Dragonoid, and he is the Perfect Dragonoid. And all of them had a tremendous power in the final battle with Naga. Dan, Runo, and the rest of them were able to attack Naga with a power that was all their own. Dan was selected, as were his friends, by something beyond our comprehension. Fate maybe. But he and his friends are special, and the Vexos must have figured that out."

"Maybe they haven't yet," Percival said.

"It's possible, though. We're gonna have to be careful," Ace said. "Bottom line, those guys are not regular kids."

(**And now, back to Runo! What's going on now?**)

"Runo... wake up," Mira murmured, gently shaking Runo awake. She groaned.

"Fimomimuts" she mumbled in distinctly.

"What did you say?" Mira asked.

"Five more minutes," Runo groaned.

"No, Runo," Mira said, shaking her more vigorously. "Come on!"

"What?"

"Come on, get dressed. Breakfast."

"Oh. Right." Runo remembered now. She was Spectra's prisoner. So far it hadn't been so bad, since she had only seen him when he kidnapped her. It had just been Mira after that... but now it was breakfast. If Mira was insisting that she get dressed, it must mean that they we're going to go and eat with the Vexos. Runo gulped, standing up off of her lower bed. Mira handed her her clothes and she ducked into the bathroom, pulling them on again. She would have to ask Mira to wash them for her sometime, because she doubted that she would be let out to find a washing machine.

She yanked a brush through her blue hair until it was silky, then she pulled it up into it's usual pigtails with her hair ties. She came back out of the bathroom then, discovering Mira by the door. She looked perplexed, and then she jumped as it opened. Runo flinched as Spectra and Gus walked in, scanning the room and their gazes landing on her. She glared at them and placed her clothes on her bed.

"What do you want?" she asked. Mira walked over to her and stood beside her, looking at Spectra warily.

"It's time for breakfast, and since we can't just leave you here without anyone, you're coming with us," Gus said briefly. Runo noted that his eyes still looked a little red and felt a little satisfaction, but didn't change her facial expression. Mira glanced at her.

"Come on," she said. Runo sighed and followed Mira out the door. Spectra took the lead while Gus hung behind Runo a little. They didn't travel in a line, but Mira stood a little ahead of Runo to her left and Gus behind her slightly, to her right. Spectra stood in front of her, with a smirk on his face.

As they walked, Runo glanced around, trying to memorize an escape route. Gus noticed and narrowed his eyes at her back. "You're not leaving, Runo, so you should just give it up," he said. Runo glanced back at him and stuck out her tongue. Gus growled, glaring at her.

"Leave it, Gus," Spectra called. Gus stopped growling and calmed down. Runo rolled her eyes.

_He really is Spectra's little lap dog, _shethought, turning forward again. She kept trying to memorize the twists and turns the corridors took, but in the end, it was all in vain, for they didn't come across an exit and she lost track after a few minutes. When they arrived at the dinning room, Runo blinked in surprise, gazing around in wonder in spite of herself.

There was a crystal chandelier hanging from the white ceiling. The walls had a few curtains draped across them despite the fact that there were no windows. One of them was red, another green, then blue, then purple, then yellow and white, and finally, brown. Each one had its respective symbol on it. The red one had a bright orange symbol for Pyrus, the green had a neon green Ventus emblem, the blue had the Aquos symbol, and so on. Runo stared around at the cream colored walls and then her eyes came to rest on the table in the center of the room.

It was a large rectangular shape, much like a dinning room table, but large enough to sit 10 people. It was covered in a white table cloth with a table runner that featured what looked to Runo like the night sky. A crescent moon at one end supported her hypothesis. It contrasted greatly with the white table cloth, but the effect it had was one that was well thought out and clearly deliberate. The table itself was set with fine china: all white. There were silver utensils laid out next to the plates and each had a glass and a mug set next to it. A few of them were steaming.

Then Runo caught sight of the Vexos, who had all looked up when they entered the room. Mylene's cold gaze skated over Spectra, Gus and Mira, coming to rest on Runo. Shadow looked up, smirking, meeting Runo's gaze. Runo shivered, remembering how he had almost prevented her from traveling back to Earth. Volt regarded her with a nod, his gaze not quite cold but not quiet friendly either. Runo decided she liked him best. Lync smirked at her, his lip curling slightly to reveal his white teeth. Runo glared at him. _They're right that he's a snake_, she thought. _Tricking Alice... he's gonna get it for that._

Spectra walked forward toward the table and then turned back to Runo and Mira. "Go on, have a seat," he said. Runo glanced at Mira and followed her as she sat down next to Lync. Runo sat down next to her, noting how Lync's chair had the Ventus symbol carved into the back of it. Spectra took his place at the head of the table, thankfully on the other end. Shadow sat across from Mira while no one was directly across from Runo, which she was grateful for. No one to make eye contact with was better, she decided.

Then waiters came in, carrying trays with sausages and bacon, pancakes and waffles. Then a few dishes that were alien to Runo, but didn't look revolting. There were some biscuits and pieces of toast, and scrambled eggs. Despite her situation, Runo couldn't help but marvel at the dishes in front of her. Half of them she recognized, but the other half were either form different countries or different planets. She didn't know. She thought she spotted a doughnut but the waiter placed it on the table in such an area that it was out of her line of vision. (**It is so hard to write this part. I can't picture all of the Vexos sitting down to eat a formal meal like this, but I can't exactly see them individually seated at a random table eating cold cereal either... so I figured I'd go with the more elegant option**)

One of the waiters poured something into her mug so tat now it steamed. Runo had been too busy observing the many outlandish dishes that she hadn't noticed what the liquid was. She now examined it, realizing that it was hot chocolate. She glanced at Mira, who was twiddling her thumbs in her lap. She was clearly nervous to Runo, but none of the Vexos seemed to notice. But and then again, none of them were looking at her. They were all looking at either their dishes or, in Shadow's case, at Runo. She shifted uncomfortably as his face broke into a wicked grin. Then, he reached for a biscuit and tore into it like a dog.

Mylene glanced at him and rolled her eyes, using her fork to snag a few pancakes and placing them onto her plate. Volt speared some sausages and let them rest on his plate and then reached for the eggs and toast while Lync snatched one of the dishes that Runo didn't know the name of. Mira placed a bagel onto her plate and reached for the butter and grape jelly. Gus seemed to be waiting for Spectra to take his food before reaching for his own, and Spectra was looking straight at Runo.

"Go on, help yourself. The food isn't poisoned, you know," he said. Runo jumped, then glared at him and reached for a bagel, like Mira. It was covered in poppy seeds and she took the butter after Mira was finished with it.

They ate in silence for a little while. Runo wondered if this was always how their breakfasts were, but she doubted it, since all of them sneaked glances at Spectra when they thought she wasn't looking. Mira kept her eyes downcast and seemed surprised when her bagel was gone, while Runo had discovered that she was ravenous due to the fact that she hadn't eaten dinner the night before and helped herself to a serving of eggs. As she sprinkled salt on them, she caught Mylene's eye, and she narrowed her eyes at Runo. Runo broke the eye contact and started to eat her eggs.

She didn't like this. All of the Vexos sitting around her was making her nervous. Especially the way they looked at her. She could feel their gazes burning on her skin every so often. Occasionally she glanced up slightly to see one of them watching her. She glanced at Mira, who seemed more tense. "Mira," she whispered. Mira glanced at her, noticing how taught her shoulders were and how tightly she gripped her fork. She blinked in sympathy, a gesture that Runo noticed. Mylene glared at them, but neither of them looked up.

"So, Runo, waddaya think?" Shadow asked, laughing. Runo jumped, turning her gaze toward him. He was smirking. She shrugged, then darkened her gaze.

"I'd much rather be home since it's a few days till Christmas," she said through clenched teeth. Spectra's mouth curled slightly upward, but no one took notice but Gus.

"Huh?" Shadow asked.

"Christmas?" Mylene repeated.

"It's a holiday that they celebrate like us, at the end of December," Mira explained, daring to speak up. Her gaze wasn't cold, but it was daring any of the Vexos to speak against her. None of them did but regarded her with a nod.

"Well, sorry, but you're not gonna be celebrating," Lync smirked. Runo glared at him, then stood up, noticing the water jug near him. The Vexos stiffened but Runo rolled her eyes.

"Will you relax? I'm just getting water!" she snapped, walking over to the metal jug. She realized it was filled with ice and water, but more water than ice. But the water must be ice cold, she decided. Picking it up, she turned, then as she was walking back toward Mira, she lifted the jug and pouted it all on Lync's head. He gasped, shooting to his feet and knocking over his chair, which Runo jumped out of the way to avoid. Mira stared with her mouth open in shock while Shadow started howling with laughter. Mylene and Volt just stared, their lips parted slightly. Runo smirked, crossing her arms with the jug still in her hand. "That's what you get for betraying my friends," she said, placing the jug back on the table and walking back to her seat.

Lync stared at her as she sat there, not looking at him. She rested her head in her hands after pushing her plate back and sighed. He glared at her, hissing as water dripped down his face. His hair was completely soaked, hanging limp from his head. His cape and shirt were also drenched. He curled his lip, walking out of the room. Runo glanced in his direction as he stormed out of the room and smirked.

Runo: 1

Vexos: … also 1

"**Ha ha. Go Runo! Show them who's boss!" Breezyfeather cries happily, punching the air. Runo stares at her, putting her head in her arms and responding with a groan.**

"**Did she have to pour water on my head?" Lync asks.**

"**Yes."**

"**Why?"**

"**I was bored."**

**This is Lync: -.-' (face with a sweat drop, in case you didn't know. ^.^)**

**Thanks to all of you reviewers! I love getting reviews, they're like candy. xD**


	4. Mysteries and Adrenaline

**Chapter four now! I don't really feel like writing in an intro... so here's the story!**

The scientist busied himself by pressing buttons on the computer. The light from the monitor bounced off of his glasses, making them appear white. His white lab coat reached his knees despite the fact that he was bent over the keyboard, his face inches from the computer screen. It was obvious that he hadn't slept in days from the stubble that grew on his chin and cheeks. For a minute, he moved his head so that his eyes were visible, revealing just how tired he was.

Professor Clay hadn't let himself rest because of the new phenomenon he had stumbled across a few days ago. After tampering with the information that Gus's hornets had given him, he had been able to access some of the cameras inside of the Resistance's trailer. A few hours ago they had strangely stopped working and he hadn't been able to recover their signal, so he turned the situation over to the other men working under him who also hadn't been able to recover it. He decided that problem could be resolved another time and placed this research ahead of it in importance.

The other day, when he was monitoring the camera's in the tank that belonged to the Resistance, he discovered that Ace had been acting strangely. At first he had believed it was because Ace was angry about Mira betraying them, but upon closer examination, Professor Clay realized that Ace was constantly waking up in the night drenched in cold sweats. He seemed more introverted than usual around his teammates, who brushed it off as Ace being upset about Mira's betrayal. And then Ace would shut himself in his room randomly, even if he and the others were having a laugh. Professor Clay had noticed this and paid attention to Ace, then observed with curiosity and a little bit of fear when he had an episode one evening.

It had been the middle of dinner, and the brawlers had been discussing plans about attacking Gama City. Professor Clay had learned that dinners were the usual time of discussion of plans, so watched attentively during these meeting times. Ace had opened his mouth to tell of a plan he had come up with, and then his eyes widened. He gasped, leaning over, clutching his chest. The others blinked in concern, and then Ace jumped to his feet. "I'll be right back," he gasped, sprinting into the trailer. Dan and Shun exchanged concerned glances and got to their feet, Dan dashing after Ace.

Professor Clay had been quick to change the security cameras to follow him as he dashed through the corridors. Ace didn't even make it to his room. He sank to his knees in the middle of the hallway. He crawled over into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He didn't turn on the light. Professor Clay had only been able to see into the room because of the curtain in the window had been opened, allowing the camera outside of it to peek in. Ace was sitting against the walls, panting and holding the fabric that covered his chest with white knuckles. Then, he let out a strangled yelp of pain and held tightly onto his head.

That was when things got even weirder. Professor Clay's eyes widened when a bright purple light filled the room, shinning out through the window. It messed up the function of the camera and for a moment everything was blurred. Then, when the light died down, Ace was sitting on the floor, panting, but obviously no longer in pain. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Percival, who popped open in his hand.

"Did you just see the same thing I did?" he panted.

"Yes, Ace," Percival said. "That was crazy."

"Yeah, but I seems that the Brawlers are special," Ace grinned. "And we've been chosen to find out if it's true."

Professor Clay hadn't understood what he was talking about, but things only got weirder. Every so often, Ace would retreat into his room and lie on his bed, clutching his head. Then he would speak to Percival about something that didn't make sense to Professor Clay. But research suggested that Ace was having visions, and possibly precognitive dreams. Professor Clay knew that he was talking about the Brawlers and them being special, but it wasn't until a few night ago, just before the cameras had messed up, that he found out exactly what was going on.

Ace had been at his computer late into the night, like usual. Sometimes he alternated with Barron, but mostly it was him on guard duty at night. One of his visions struck him and he gasped, curling forward and his fingers splaying on his skull. Then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished. Ace jumped in surprise, unbending himself and looking around in confusion. Percival was sleeping, so Ace had a screen pop up on his computer and he typed in various things until he came across a report that he found interesting.

Professor Clay used one of the cameras to get behind Ace and see what he was looking at over his shoulder. His eyes widened.

It was a chat room from a few years ago. The information hadn't been cleared, and the date on it was before Dan and the Brawlers saved Earth. Ace knew that much. He started to read what was written and held his breath. Professor Clay was shocked, too, at what the chat room contained. He knew how extreme Bakugan battles could get, but he had never heard anything like this.

Runo: Hey Dan!

Dan: Hi Runo

Marucho: Are we all here?

Runo: No, Alice isn't here.

Julie: Well go get her!

Runo: I can't! She's working.

Dan: That's okay, Runo. U can tell her l8er.

Runo: K

Shun signed in.

Dan: Okay then, that's all of us that's coming.

Shun: hey Dan

Dan: hi Shun

Runo: Tigrerra evolved like everybody else's Bakugan, right?

Marucho: Yeah! Preyas evolved into Angelo and Diablo!

Shun: Skyrus evolved from Skyrus to Storm Skyrus.

Julie: Yeah! Gorem into Hammer Gorem!

Runo: The strangest thing happened in our battle.

Dan: what?

Runo: when we were fighting, I was able to deflect one of Lars Lion's attacks. Myself. No ability card.

Dan: Whoa!

Shun: That's cool

Marucho: how is that possible?

Julie: I dunno but thats neat!

Marucho: After my battle sparkles floated near me and seemed to go in my skin. It was tingling for a while after

Julie: Wow!

Shun: that's neat.

Dan: This is crazy

Shun: Since we're talking about weird experiences, remember that battle with me and Masquerade, Dan?

Dan: Yeah. U had a tornado around u.

Julie: What?

Marucho: A tornado?

Runo: oh yeah, Dan told me about that.

Shun: it was kinda weird, because it was green, too, and I caused it to come up

Julie: Is it weird how I glow when I shoot the Bakugan sometimes?

Marucho: when you shoot Gorem out there?

Julie: yeah.

Runo: Kinda.

Dan: how about when the cards catch fire in my hand? And how me an drago can think as one?

Shun: I dunno, but its bizarre.

Marucho: No other battlers have reported stuff like that.

Runo: Really?

Julie: No way!

Dan: hm, that's crazy

Marucho: I have to go, sorry

Marucho signed off

Dan: what was that about?

Runo: no clue

Julie: Sorry guys, Mom and Dad are calling! I'll catch up later!

Julie signed off.

Shun: I should probably go too. Gramps is gonna be looking for me.

Shun signed off

Runo: Guess it's just you and me.

Dan: yeah.

Runo: Hey, can you come over to my cafe? I have to talk to you about something.

Dan: sure. Now?

Runo: yeah.

Runo signed off.

Dan: ok

Dan signed off.

Professor Clay knew then, after reading that, that something strange was going on with the Brawlers. He suspected that Ace had something to do with it. Maybe he was receiving messages that told him to learn about the Brawlers and tell them of their significance. Professor Clay didn't know. But he did know that Runo, Shun, and Alice had all displayed extreme powers. And now that he had one of them, the others were unimportant. Runo would provide him with all the data he needed. Now came the hard part.

How would he get the data from her willingly?

**Hm... Revelation, huh? I didn't think I'd be able to weave this idea in, but I managed! This is getting good... or at least I think so. What about you guys?**

Breakfast had been a disaster. That was an understatement. Runo limped back to their room with Mira at her side, supporting her, and who was clearly trying to keep the concern off of her face.. After Runo had poured water on Lync's head, things had gone way downhill. There had been no guards in the room, and no one called for them. Instead, Spectra had taken care of her.

Spectra had been more than a little annoyed by her outburst. She hadn't cooperated from the start. She had given him a hard time from the second he walked into the cafe. She had irritated him for the last time. As she sat back down, he stood up. Shadow stopped laughing abruptly and Mylene's cold gaze surveyed the Pyrus brawler as he walked over to Runo. Mira stiffened, looking at her brother in fear. Volt turned his narrowed gaze on Spectra as he stopped behind her chair.

Runo looked up at him, defiance showing on her face. Then, in one swift movement, Spectra yanked her chair back, sending her toppling backward with a yelp. Her leg whacked the table hard, the wood slicing a jagged would in her skin. She gasped, banging her head on the ground. Mira shot to her feet in shock. She looked at Spectra in anger. "What was that for?" she shouted.

"She has tried my patience for the last time," Spectra snarled.

"So you intentionally hurt her?" Spectra was silent, staring at Mira. She bent over and helped Runo out of the chair, grabbing her napkin and pressing it to the gash in her leg. "Are you okay?" she asked softly. Runo nodded, gritting her teeth. Spectra walked back to his seat in the table, glaring back at them.

"Let that serve as a warning of whats to come if you defy me," Spectra said. Runo felt a flicker of fear ignite in her stomach as she and Mira exchanged nervous glances. Mira tied the napkin around Runo's leg and helped her stand, letting Runo lean on her for support. Runo limped out of the room with Mira's help, leaving the Vexos at their table in silence.

"Professor Clay isn't going to be happy with you, Spectra," Mylene said, standing up. Shadow got to his feet as well, following Mylene out of the room. Volt stood silently, exiting through the same door as Runo and Mira. Gus and Spectra were alone.

"Do you think that was wise, Master Spectra?" Gus asked. Spectra sighed, composing himself.

"I'll admit that probably wasn't my wisest idea but she is irritating me to no end," Spectra said. "Lets go find Professor Clay. I think he'll find her interesting."

Runo hoped that the gash wasn't serious. Chances were it wasn't, but she couldn't see if it was bleeding seriously. She wished her head would stop pounding from the impact with the floor. Her leg was throbbing. She sighed, looking up when they stopped in front of Mira's room.

Mira punched in her code and the door opened quickly and smoothly. She helped Runo into it and seated her at the desk, turning the chair so that it was no longer under the desk. She knelt in front of Runo and untied the makeshift bandage, causing Runo to wince. Mira examined the wound, then stood up and headed into the bathroom. Runo glanced at her leg and realized that the wound really wasn't as serious as she has thought it would be. Sure, it hurt a lot, but it wasn't as deep as she had assumed.

Mira came back from the bathroom with a bottle of antiseptic and a red washcloth, kneeling before Runo again. "This is gonna sting a little," Mira said, apologizing in advance. Runo gritted her teeth and nodded. Mira poured the antiseptic onto the washcloth and gently pressed it to Runo's wound. Runo hissed, grimacing and she gently cleaned the wound. "Sorry," Mira apologized, standing up when she was finished.

"It's okay," Runo sighed. She was shaky from the pain and was thankful that she had worn a pair of Mira's socks instead of her leggins. At least now when she wore her leggins her cut wouldn't show. Mira walked into the bathroom again and came back holding a first aid kit.

"For some reason these things are in all of the bathrooms here," Mira said with a shrug. Runo shrugged too and watched as Mira knelt down in front of her again. She pressed a gauze pad to her leg and wrapped a bandage around it, then secured it by trying a small knot in the back. She grinned up at Runo, who nodded in return.

"Thanks," she said, standing up and wincing.

"Yeah, it's gonna hurt for a while. Come on, I think I have some painkillers in the bathroom," she said, helping Runo over to the bathroom. Mira rummaged through a cabinet and found the bottle of painkillers, opening it and handing one of the pills to Runo. Mira grabbed one of the paper cups and filled it with water from the sink and gave it to Runo, who swallowed the tablet and the water with ease. She wiped her mouth with her wrist and grinned in thanks to Mira.

"Thank you, Mira," she said.

"No problem," Mira responded. Her gaze darkened then. "Runo, I think that we should get out of here."

"It's not safe for you here, and now there's nothing for us to gain either," Wilda said, popping out on Mira's shoulder.

"Wilda's right. And if we stay here Spectra might hurt you even more. We can't take any chances." Runo nodded.

"Yeah, I don't exactly wanna stay here very much either. Christmas is only 6 days away, and Dan promised me that he'd come home for Christmas," Runo softly explained. "He was going to take me on a date..."

"Oh Runo..." Mira murmured. She helped the blue haired girl back into the bedroom and the two of them sat down on the bed. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be looking for you by now. Dr. Micheal figured out a way to contact people here through video chat, and maybe Julie and Alice got in touch with Dan," she suggested hopefully. "They might even be searching for Spectra right now to get you back."

"Maybe," Runo murmured. She got up and took off her shoes and Mira's socks, pulling her leggins back on to cover the bandage. Easily she put her shoes back on and sat back down.

Suddenly, the doors opened and both girls jumped. Mira shot to her feet, Gauntlet in her right hand and Wilda in her left. Her eyes widened and she took a step back in shock. "Fa-Father!"

"Hello Mira," Professor Clay said coolly, walking into the room. He was flanked by a few guards who were all armed with that strange glowing circle stick thing that Gus had attacked Runo with. Runo and Mira exchanged nervous glances and Mira turned her gaze back to him.

"What is it?" she asked. "And next time would you please knock?"

"You're time taking care of Runo is up, Mira," Professor Clay said. Mira stared at him and then looked back at Runo, whose eyes were wide open in shock.

"What are you talking about?"

"I was given orders to take care of her from now on."

"From who?" The professor was silent. He closed his eyes and looked grave. "Answer me!"

"That is not your concern, Mira," he said.

"Father!" Mira cried in anger. She hissed, opening her hand. Wilda popped out and floated while Mira grabbed a gate card. "Gate card set! Bakugan, brawl! Wilda stand!" Runo and the others gasped as Wilda rose from his ball form, destroying part of the ceiling. Professor Clay jumped back with his men, gasping. Mira reached back to Runo, who grabbed her hand. Mira pulled her toward Wilda and they both stepped onto his hand. He lifted them up and rested them on his shoulder.

"Wilda, let's go!" Mira cried.

"You said it Mira," Wilda responded.

"Hurry! Call for Spectra," Professor Clay shouted. Mira and Runo exchanged glances and Mira placed a card in her Gauntlet.

"Ability activate! Gun lock!" she shouted. Flames shot out of Wilda's chest, burning holes in the walls. "Wilda come on!" Mira yelled. Wilda started through the holes in the walls, bringing several chunks of the ceiling down with him. Runo rested her hand against the side of Wilda's neck, as did Mira. "We have to get out of here fast," Mira said.

"If we don't they'll..." Runo trailed off nervously. Mira looked at her determinedly.

"We won't let them catch us!" she vowed. Runo nodded, looking in the direction that they were going.

"Bakugan brawl! Bakugan Stand! Ability, activate! Danger Trident!"

"Oh no!" Mira cried and both girls screamed as the attack hit Wilda, sending him stumbling backward. Hyena laughter filled the air and Runo stiffened. "Wilda, are you okay?" Mira asked.

"I'm okay, Mira," Wilda said.

"Shadow Prove," Mira hissed. Runo swallowed hard.

"Where do you think you're going, Brawlers?" Shadow asked, coming around a corner. Hades stood in their way. Shadow laughed insanely making Mira ticked off visibly. Then, she gasped. He laughed harder. "Yeah, Mira! BrawlerS. I know you're a traitor. And you're gonna pay the price of it!"

"No," Mira whispered.

"Ha ha! Time to pay!" Shadow cried. "Ability activate! Danger trident!"

"Wilda look out!" Mira yelled. "Ability activate! Clay wall!" Wilda slammed his hands together and the wall of clay sprang up out of the ground, blocking the purple energy blast.

"Ability activate! Photon Tail!" Hades lifted his tails, purple energy shooting from them. Mira countered quickly.

"Ability activate! Sand Beast!"

"What? Are you crazy?" Shadow cried. Wilda's form became sand quickly, the blast passing harmlessly through it. Runo gasped, feeling herself slip on the sand. Mira seemed to be having the same problem and was sliding forward while Runo was falling back. Then, there was nothing below her. She was falling. Wilda quickly caught Mira, his form returning to flesh and blood. But Runo continued to fall. She gasped, her upper body twisting below her.

"Runo!" Mira shouted. Suddenly, she was right side up and someone was holding her. Runo didn't open her eyes, not yet registering that she had been saved. Mira and Shadow gasped as her savior landed on the floor unharmed. Mira hissed in anger, knowing that if he was here it was over.

Runo gasped, realizing that she wasn't dead. Someone was holding her. She opened her eyes, blinking. With a startled gasp, she realized that her savior was none other than the Pyrus brawler she despised. Spectra. Her mouth opened in a small "O" in shock. He looked down at her with a cold glare.

"Professor, I've got her," he called and Runo recovered her senses, struggling immediately.

"Let go! Let go!" Spectra smirked at her.

"Nice work, Spectra," Professor Clay said, walking up. Runo knew it was hopeless now and changed her tactics, pushing away the waves of despair that threatened to pull her under.

"Mira! Go! Don't worry about me!" Runo yelled.

"Runo are you crazy!" Mira shouted.

"No! Go! Get Dan!" she shouted back. "Get the others! Hurry, now!"

"You're not going anywhere! Ability activate! Stinger Cannon!" Shadow yelled.

"Shadow! You're going to kill us!" Professor Clay cried. Spectra set Runo on her feet and wrapped his arm around her neck.

"Why do you always have to go and grab my neck!" Runo choked out.

"Shut up _professor_! Just back off!" Shadow snarled.

"Mira watch out!" Runo screamed as Hades fired the blast.

"Gate card open! Active Ghost!" Mira shouted. Shadow gasped as Hades swirled back into his ball form. "And, double ability activate! Sand beast plus clay wall!" The clay wall grew up in front of Wilda as the blast from Hades faded into nothing. Shadow was blocked.

"Runo, I can't just leave you!" Mira shouted.

"Mira, go! Hurry, before they stop you!" Runo screamed. "You can get help! You won't be able to save me now, let's face it! Go and get the others and come up with a plan!"

"Shut up!" Professor Clay shouted at Runo. Spectra quickly covered her mouth with is other arm and Runo gasped. She narrowed her eyes, clamping her teeth down on his fingers. He yelled in pain and ripped his hand away.

"GO!" Runo shouted. "Now! Hurry!"

"Runo..." Mira whispered.

"GO!"

"Mira," Wilda urged. Mira hesitated, then a blast shook the building, making Runo and the others scream in surprise. Runo pleaded with her eyes, her throat killing her. Mira stared at her, then turned away.

"Wilda."

"I hear you Mira," Wilda said, jumping into the air. He slammed into the ceiling, his fist breaking through it.

"I'll be back, I promise, Runo!" Mira shouted, Wilda taking her through the hole in the ceiling. Runo smiled at her and nodded, then gasped as another blast shook the building.

"Mira!" Spectra growled. "That girl is going to pay for her treachery!"

"Spectra!" Shadow cried, managing to find a way around the clay wall. Spectra let go of Runo and she sank to her knees, panting. Smoke was making its way through the corridor, and alarms were clanging.

"We have to go," Professor Clay growled. "Mira... she destroyed the place. If we don't leave now we'll be killed."

"What about the Dimension Controller?" Spectra asked. It was now that Runo noticed the absence of Gus, and then he came running up.

"Master Spectra!"

"We don't have to worry about that. The prince has a back up at the palace," Professor Clay said. Helios popped out on Spectra's shoulder.

"Then lets go," he growled. Runo looked up at them, then coughed on the smoke.

"Gus, Shadow, deal with her," Spectra said, then gasped as both Helios and Vulcan started to glow. Gus and Shadow gasped as Helios and Vulcan grew out of their spheres. Runo stared as they appeared, gulping at Helios's mechanical parts. He looked completely different from when she had last seen him battle Apollonir.

Gus and Shadow pulled Runo to her feet and stood by her sides, keeping her from running. As if there were anywhere to go! Runo wasn't stupid. She knew that if she ran she'd be killed from the falling debris. She stood, looking around in horror. Then, she doubled over in a coughing fit from the smoke. Gus stared at her and then glanced at Professor Clay, as if puzzled by the fact that she was coughing so much.

"Humans can't survive without oxygen, and smoke doesn't do a lot of good for them," Professor Clay explained, exasperated. "If we don't get her outside into the open air she'll die of lack of oxygen."

"You say that like it's no big deal!" Runo cried between coughs. He glared at her and she yelped as a fire sprang to life near them. Spectra hissed.

"Helios! Vulcan! Come on, we have to go," he shouted. Another explosion shook the ground and Runo yelped, falling. Shadow and Gus caught her, their hands tightening around her arms. They helped her stand upright and she panted, feeling light headed.

"We have to go through the hole Mira made," Gus announced.

"Yeah, but how are all of us going to get through there?" Shadow asked.

"Helios and Vulcan can fly, Shadow Prove," Spectra said. Shadow shrugged. Helios lowered a hand and Spectra jumped onto it. He beckoned to Gus and Shadow, who helped Runo over to him. Gus jumped down once Runo and Shadow were on Helios's hand, then ran over to Vulcan, who allowed him to climb onto his shoulder. Professor Clay and the soldiers all ended up cupped in Vulcan's hands and they took off into the smoke filled air.

Runo knelt in the palm of Helios's hand, struggling to breath. It was so difficult to breath in smoke. She coughed with every breath and saw the world through a tunnel. She gasped, lying down in the giant Bakugan's hand. She choked and coughed and made futile attempts at breathing. But she just couldn't.

"Huh!" Shadow gasped. Spectra knelt down next to Runo, watching as she struggled to take a breath.

"We need to hurry or she won't make it," Spectra growled. Even though the girl bugged him to no end, he still knew that she needed to live. If she died, Dan would kill him without hesitation. Professor Clay and Prince Hydron, too. He hissed. "Helios! Hurry up!"

**I think I'll leave you there... This chapter is too long to add an outro. Till next time!**

**By the way... the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update. Sorry that I'm mentioning reviews. xD**

**WHOA 7 PAGES! … wow.**


	5. Running? Secrets revealed!

**Okay Chapter 5. I'm bored with the intros and outros... ugh... I hate writers block on them, I just wanna get to the story! So here we go!**

"Helios! Hurry up!"

"I'm going as fast as I can, Spectra," Helios growled. Spectra hissed, looking back at Runo. It was hard to see her through the smoke up here and Shadow was looking around blindly. Spectra turned to look at him.

"Where are Mylene and the others?" Spectra asked.

"I dunno," Shadow said. Spectra growled. This was not going well. Then, he gasped, whirling around as he caught sight of a bright light. He and Shadow stared in shock at Runo, where the bright yellow light was emanating. Helios grunted in surprise, slowing in his ascent. They were now outside of Gama City, the air free of smoke, and Spectra could see Mylene and Lync riding on Elico and Volt riding Brontes. The dimension controller had obviously been destroyed.

Gus and Professor Clay had caught sight of the light from Runo and were watching with wide eyes. Professor Clay's mouth stretched into a grin and he yelled in triumph. "I was right!"

"You were right about what?" Gus asked.

"Runo... I'll explain later," he said.

The light intensified, forcing Spectra and Shadow to shield their eyes. Lync, Mylene, and Volt all gasped, catching sight of the phenomenon taking place so close by. "What the heck?" Volt exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Mylene cried.

"Is that Runo?" Lync yelped. Mylene and Volt glanced at each other.

"Maybe. Come on, let's go see," Volt suggested. Elico and Brontes flew them closer and then the light peaked. All of them gasped, turning away from Runo.

"What the heck is going on?" Spectra gasped.

Dan gasped, doubling over in his shower. His chest was burning, searing with pain. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, it spread from his chest to his arms, to his stomach, his legs until it was everywhere. His whole body was on fire, stinging like someone had struck him with lightning. He was biting his tongue and stopped when he tasted blood, but he couldn't perceive that pain. All the other burning was blinding him.

Little did he know, but Runo, Julie, Marucho, Shun, and Alice were all experiencing the same thing. Julie had been testing her skates outside and then she was falling because she couldn't bear the pain. Thankfully, she had landed on a soft patch of earth and was unharmed. Marucho had been typing pieces of data into a computer for analyzing when he collapsed, curled in a ball. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Shun was watching Julie skate, jumping along the roads with his skills, then he slipped and was overcome with that burning. His veins were on fire. He had flipped at the last second, landing on his feet. Then he sank to his knees. Alice was getting her grandfather some water and then she fell, shattering the glass and alerting Ace that something was wrong.

Then, as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone, to be replaced with a dime glow that surrounded all of the Brawlers. Dan had a warm red glow around him. Julie had a soft brown one. Marucho was cool blue, Shun bright green. Alice was a dark purple color and licked at her skin like flames. The same dark flames that had surrounded Masquerade so often.

Dan didn't understand, but Ace did. He knew it had something to do with Runo and the Vexos. _What's happened_? he wondered worriedly.

Meanwhile, miles away, Mira and Wilda were hurrying toward where they had last seen the trailer parked: on the hilltop near where the gate had opened. "Chances are it's not here anymore," she muttered. "The dimension controller at Beta City got destroyed... so they might be near there. Wilda, let's go toward Beta City!"

"I hear you, Mira," Wilda said, changing directions. Since the other dimension controllers had been destroyed, Wilda could move freely throughout the land. That gave Mira the idea to ask the local Bakugan if they had seen her friends.

"Excuse me!" Mira called to a Ventus Atmos. The Bakugan stopped, then soared over to them.

"Yeah? How can I help you?" he asked.

"Have you seen a moving trailer around here?" she questioned him. "Maybe a few days ago?"

"Yeah, about a week ago they passed by here," Atmos said. "They headed that way." He turned in the direction of Gama city and Mira sighed.

"Thank you, Atmos," she said. She and Wilda set off again, heading back to where Runo was being held. "Runo, please tell me that you can hold out," Mira whispered.

The light around Runo hadn't died down. It was still as bright as before, a blinding white light that illuminated everything. Spectra couldn't even see through his mask, for the light showed through it.

If any of them had been able to see into the light, they would have seen Runo floating in the center of a column of bright white light. Sparkles of energy would have been dancing around her, swirling, shooting around her like shooting stars. Runo was still unconscious, but the pain had reached her. It had shot through her, slicing through every fiber of her being. Although she had been embraced in darkness, she had known that pain. Nothing could compare to it. It was like she had been electrocuted and then incinerated slowly and painfully for the amusement of a sick person.

When it had died down, it had been pure bliss. Nothing could describe the relief she felt. And now she awoke to find herself floating above Helios's hand. She gasped, looking around to see nothing but white light. It didn't hurt her eyes at all. It didn't even bother her in the slightest. She glanced around, her hair waving slightly. She didn't understand.

Suddenly, the light vanished and Runo fell down, landing on her knees in the palm of Helios's hand. She blinked the flashbulbs from her green eyes and looked around, spotting everyone else doing the same thing. Helios and the others had made it out to the surface so Runo stood up, jumping off of Helios's hand since it was about 3 feet away from the ground. She looked around, noticing a tall tower stretching far above her into the clouds. She stared up at it, curious as to why she was unable to see the top.

Then, she realized that she had an advantage. While the Vexos were still trying to see, she could easily slip away. Runo didn't know what had just happened or even why it happened, but she did know that she had to get away. She took a step with her bad leg and realized with a shock that it didn't hurt. She blinked, then shook her head. That would have to wait. She had a chance to go, and she had to use it.

She started to jog, heading away from the tower. Runo was surprised. Her leg didn't hurt at all and she felt more energized than she had in ages. What was going on?

Now she had started to sprint, and still there were no cries to tell her to stop. She assumed that they all had cleared their eyes by now, but after the intensity of that light she wasn't so sure. She didn't understand, but after all the business with Bakugan she had learned to do what needs to be done first and ask questions later.

By now she was about 200 yards away, and she was starting to become breathless. Someone cried out behind her and Runo's stomach clenched. She knew who it was.

"She's getting away!" Lync shouted. Runo pushed on, trying her hardest to keep going.

"Elico!" Mylene yelled.

"Yes Mylene," he said, running toward Runo. She glanced back to see the large Aquos Bakugan hurtling toward her and gasped, tripping and skidding over the rocky ground. She yelped in pain and panted, getting to her feet again.

"Keep going," Runo gasped, taking off again. Her energy boost was fast depleting and she knew that she should have started running with Dan. One of Elico's footsteps shook the ground and Runo gasped, managing to keep her footing. "Go go go!" she hissed, sprinting away from him.

"Runo it's impossible," Mylene yelled. "Elico will crush you!"

"Big deal!" Runo yelled. "I'm not scared!"

"What?" Mylene gasped. An idea sprang into her head and she smirked. "Mira left you! You're feeding yourself false hopes! Dan and the others aren't coming to get you, you foolish girl! Just give up!" Suddenly, Runo whirled around. Elico stopped and Mylene and Elico looked at Runo. Runo glared at them, standing her ground.

"I'm not scared of you. You hear me? Dan and the others will come. They're my friends and they won't just leave me here!" Runo shouted. "They won't!" Runo's feet left the ground and she floated up, her eyes closed and her hands over her heart just like that day so long ago. "My friends will save me! I have faith in my friends!"

"What's going on?" Gus yelled at Professor Clay.

"I'm not sure," he gasped. _This is amazing_, he thought. _If she is on our side... Prince Hydron and King Zenoheld will be unstoppable!_

"Professor Clay, what is happening?" Spectra asked.

"Yeah! Why's she floating?" Shadow demanded. Runo opened her eyes, smiling. Mylene and Elico blinked.

"General Quasar!" Helios growled, shooting his fire ball at Runo.

"No Helios!" Spectra shouted. But the attack never hit Runo. Instead, it slowed as it neared her, coming to a stop not five feet from her. A clear but milky shield surrounded her in a large dome, reaching back a good 300 yards. She didn't seem fazed, remembering how she had deflected Lars Lion's attack back then. She smiled, then opened her arms.

"Dan," she whispered, the fireball exploding. Mylene and Elico yelled in surprise, jumping back. Neither of them were hit by the attack, but instead were thrown backward from the force of the explosion.

"Mylene!" Elico cried, grabbing her before she flew back.

"Dan, my friends," Runo yelled. "I have faith in you!"

Dan gasped as he heard a faint echo of what sounded like Runo's voice. "_Dan, my friends, I have faith in you..._"

"Did you guys hear that?" Dan asked, bursting into the control room. He gasped when he saw all of the others gathered there, looking freaked out. Julie and Alice looked nervous and he noticed that Julie was shaking a little. Marucho looked shaken and Shun just seemed perplexed. All of them looked up as Dan entered and Julie shot to her feet.

"Dan! Did you feel what we did?" she cried. He blinked.

"You guys felt that burning, too?"

"Yeah," Alice said softly.

"It was way weird," Shun said.

"We all felt it at the same time?" Marucho asked. Dan nodded.

"Must have... but why?"

"Allow me to explain," Ace said. He and Barron walked forward and Ace glanced curiously at Barron, who grinned at him.

"You didn't think that you were the only one that got those visions, did you?" Barron asked. Ace stared at him while Dan and the Brawlers exchanged clueless glances. The two grinned at each other and turned toward the Brawlers. Nemus and Percival popped out on their shoulders.

"There are a few things you guys should know," Ace started.

The light from Runo started to die down and Runo closed her eyes again, her hands falling to her sides. She tilted her head upward, opening her eyes, and then she started to float downward. She closed them again, lowering her head and pressing her arms to her chest. "Guys, I'll be waiting for you," she whispered as her feet touching down on the ground. She lifted her head, glaring at Mylene as Elico placed her on the ground a few yards from Runo. Mylene glared at her and seemed reluctant to approach, and then the other Vexos besides Volt ran up, along with Professor Clay.

"What the heck just happened?" Lync cried, as if Runo would give him the answer. She then realized that something strange had happened and she blinked in surprise and looked around, as if the answer would be on a rock next to her.

"What the heck? Humans can't fly... float... whatever! What the heck?" she yelled. Spectra and Gus looked perplexed and Shadow, Lync and Mylene annoyed. Volt walked up with a guarded look on his face, a sort of glare. He crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced at Runo. Professor Clay seemed to be looking at her as if she were an experiment, and when Runo caught his eye she shivered and took a step back. She scanned the faces of the Vexos, hoping maybe they would know what had just happened. But even if they did know, what were the odds that they would tell her?

Runo bit her lip, turning around to see if she could make it somewhere where they couldn't get to her. But even if she could get away from the Vexos, she wouldn't be able to make it away from their Bakugan. They were just to massive. She turned back and sighed.

Spectra and Mylene seemed to have recovered. "Just come with us, it'll be much easier," Spectra said, grabbing her wrist. Runo sighed as he pulled on her wrist, following with her eyes closed and her head tilted downward. Lync and Shadow exchanged glances and shrugged, following. Mylene and Volt came last while Gus trailed next to Spectra. Professor Clay started after them and the Bakugan followed last.

"We're going up to Ves Palace," Spectra said to Gus. "We're gonna have to fly."

"Sounds like fun," Brontes said. He knelt down near Volt and placed his hand on the ground. Volt nodded his thanks and jumped up. Helios picked up Spectra and Runo while Gus took his place on Vulcan. Helios also picked up Professor Clay while his men headed over to the elevator. Shadow joined Mylene and Lync jumped up with Gus. All of the Bakugan took to the air, Spectra keeping a close eye on Runo to ensure that she didn't fall or try to escape.

Professor Clay was staring into space and Runo was starting to grow a little wary of the scientist. Mira had told her earlier that he was the reason why Helios had evolved into Cyborg Helios. He had helped to implant the mechanical parts into the dragon Bakugan. Just the thought of that made Runo shiver. And the way that he had been looking at her earlier... she bit her lip nervously.

What had happened earlier anyway? Runo was totally baffled, thinking about it now. The only other time something like that had actually happened was during her battle with Lars Lion... and that was because Tigrerra was in trouble and she felt guilty. What had provoked it to happen now? And what gave her the ability to fly and glow and all that? Runo didn't understand. She had been in trouble, sure, but... she crossed her arms and sighed angrily.

"Would someone please explain to me what just happened?" Runo yelled irritably. Professor Clay didn't answer and Spectra just glanced at her, then looked back up into the sky. Runo groaned, resting her head in her hands. She was annoyed at her lack of information. After a few moments of flying in silence, Runo's anger evaporated and was replaced with worry and even a little nausea.

She remembered what Spectra and Gus had told them after Spectra had released her back in Russia. What they had told them about their Bakugan. _"You may find it interesting to know that your former Bakugan now belong to Hydron. They are now giant bronze statues decorating his throne room."_

"_Prince Hydron is your true enemy."_

"_Vestal's prince."_

If they were taking her to Ves Palace, that must mean that they were taking her to Prince Hydron. And if she was being taken to Hydron, that meant that they were taking her to Tigrerra.

"You see, guys, the Ancients have been speaking to Ace and I for a while," Barron began. "They send us visions and explain to us what is going on."

"At first I thought that I was going crazy. But each vision became more and more realistic and Percival saw them, too," Ace said.

"We were in the center of New Vestroia in each one," Percival told them.

"And each time all of the Ancients would speak to us. Except for when Apollonir was helping you, Dan," Nemus spoke up.

"The Ancients told us that there were six Bakugan brawlers that had special powers," Ace continued. "One Darkus, one Haos, one Sub-Terra, one Pyrus, one Ventus, and one Aquos."

"I hoped that I would be the Haos one," Barron admitted, "But they told me that I wasn't – and neither was Ace."

"Anyway, that got me thinking," Ace said, "what if it were you guys? I had heard reports from Barron before we met you that you guys had special powers. Like when Runo floated up and protected Tigrerra during her test with the Ancients. Lars Lion mentioned that in on of our meetings."

"And how Julie will glow when she shoots her Bakugan sometimes," Nemus supplied.

"Or when all of you guys teamed up to stop Naga. Dan was so far away from you guys, and then he and all of you appeared together and beat Naga," Percival announced.

"Shun, during the battle between you and Hairadee, you were able to inflict extreme damage upon him," Ace told Shun, tossing him something green. He blinked, catching it with ease. He opened his hand and blinked at the green emerald like jewel.

"What's this?" he asked simply, narrowing his eyes at Ace.

"Ventus Oberus gave it to me to give to you," Ace said. "She said it would unlock your true powers."

"This is for you, Dan," Barron said. Dan stared at him as he tossed a diamond shaped ruby like gem to him.

"Julie," Ace grinned, handing her a brown diamond jewel.

"Alice," Barron said happily, giving her a piece of what looked looked like finely cut obsidian in the shape of a diamond.

"And Marucho," Ace said, tossing Marucho a jewel that appeared to be a sphere of sapphire about the same color as Elfin.

"Whoa, way cool," Julie exclaimed, examining her gem.

"This is neat," Dan admitted. He turned his gaze back to Ace and Barron. "But.. if there are six... does that mean that Runo...?"

"Yeah. Runo is the sixth." Ace said. He looked at Percival.

"There is no way that the Vexos could know that Runo holds these powers unless they infiltrated our base and spied on us, which they haven't done. But the fact that they have her is still troubling," Percival said.

"Yeah, there isn't any way they know," Barron assured them. "But we have to get her back."

"This is crazy," Alice said, examining her gem. She held it up in front of a light and blinked in surprise as it glinted. Then, she had an image of Masquerade flash though her mind. She gasped, dropping the gem. She sank to her knees, holding her head as an unbearable pain came over her. It reminded her of a day so long ago when she had been engulfed in light with her grandfather.

"Alice! What's wrong?" Julie cried.

"Alice?" Shun asked, kneeling next to her.

"Masquerade?" Alice asked, finding herself in that field. A light breeze was blowing her hair back, and that familiar masked figure stood in front of her. A tell tale smirk was upon his face and his golden hair stood up high above his head. The familiar blue mask glinted upon his face and Alice's mouth broke into a wide smile. "Masquerade!"

"Hello, Alice," he smirked.

"I thought you said that you'd never come back!" Alice cried, walking forward to cross the distance between them. Masquerade nodded.

"I wasn't counting on it, Alice, but it seems that you will need my help once again," he said. "That gem that Exceedra has given you will allow you to call me if you need my help. You can always call me anyway, but it will let you and I separate and fight in the same battle with two Bakugan. Sort of like Marucho's Angelo and Diablo, how they could switch personalities."

"That's great," Alice smiled. "Would you mind taking over now to show the others?"

"It would be my pleasure, Alice," he grinned, leaving Alice standing in the grassy plain alone.

"Alice? Alice, wake up," Dan urged, having turned her over and was shaking her. Suddenly, they all gasped as rainbow light gathered around her. Dan rocked back on his heels in surprise, falling onto his butt. Shun and the others gasped as the light concentrated on Alice's face, forming two forked pieces of blue glass. Dan's eyes widened in shock as her dress became a white coat and purple pants appeared around her legs.

"Is that who I think it is?" Julie cried.

"No way," Shun exclaimed.

"Impossible!" Marucho yelped.

"Masquerade?" Dan whispered. The glowing died down and the figure lying in Alice's place sat up, grinning, then looked up at Dan.

"Hello, Dan," he said. "It's been a while." Dan's stunned face broke out into a wide, welcoming smile as he reached down with his hand. Masquerade took it and stood up, grinning the whole time.

"I'll say," Dan exclaimed. "Where you been?"

"I've been lingering here and there, but staying with Alice most of the time," Masquerade said.

"Hey Masquerade," Marucho smiled.

"Hello," he said with a nod. It was clearly awkward between the Brawlers and him, but Julie quickly broke it.

"So, um, you and Alice are the same person?" she asked curiously. Shun leaned casually against the wall, his eyes not once leaving Masquerade, but no one seemed to notice.

"Yes, that's right," Masquerade said. "I was created like Hal-G when Alice was exposed to the negative energy of the Silent Core. Thanks to Dan and Drago, I was able to break free of its power."

"It was nothing, Masquerade," Dan grinned. "I'm glad you're on our side."

"Me too, Dan," Masquerade said. Drago popped out on Dan's shoulder and Masquerade nodded to him.

"Hi Drago."

"Hello, Masquerade. I believe that you should know this," Drago said. "Alpha Hydranoid has also been taken captive by the Vestal people. Although he said that he was now Alice's partner, I thought that you'd be concerned."

"Of course he's concerned, he was his old partner," Shun said. "However, since he's Alice's partner now, maybe it would be best if we found him a new partner. A Darkus Bakugan, of course."

"That sounds like a good idea," Masquerade agreed. He turned to Ace and Barron. "My name is Masquerade."

"I'm Barron," Barron announced.

"My name's Ace," Ace told him. The two Darkus brawlers stuck out their hands and shook in a friendly manner, then Barron did as well. Julie sighed contentedly.

"Now if only we had Runo back, everything would be perfect," she said, examining her jewel.

"Runo?" Masquerade asked. "Oh yes, Alice informed me of that last night."

"Last night?" Dan asked.

"Yes, sometimes we share dreams," Masquerade explained. "I sometimes share with her battle strategies if she were to ever battle again. Other times we just chat."

"Interesting," Drago said.

"So this is the famous Masquerade?" Elfin asked. Masquerade looked at her and nodded. "He doesn't look like much to me."

"Mind your manners, Elfin," Ingram said. "He is a very powerful brawler. Skyrus shared with me many stories of him."

"Preyas did with me, too, you know," Elfin said. "He told me of the time that he sent Dan and Drago to the Doom Dimension, and then how they took their tests."

"Hey, that reminds me. What happened to your Doom Card?" Shun asked.

"I still have it, but I shall not use it. It is a cursed card," Masquerade said, pulling something out of his pocket.

"Hm. Masquerade, Alice has a card you used to transport yourself. Does your Doom Card posses the same ability?" Marucho asked.

"Yes it does," Masquerade said. "Why?"

"Because it could help us rescue Runo and the Bakugan!" Julie cried happily.

"That makes sense. If we're able to transport ourselves into the place that they're keeping Runo, we'll be able to find her and get her out much much more quickly," Shun said.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Barron said.

"You bet it does," came another voice. Dan gasped, whirling around. Ace's eyes widened and Barron's jaw dropped. Shun blinked in surprise while Marucho yelled in shock.

"Mira?"

**AGH I AM SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE! I HAD WRITTERS BLOCK ON THIS! Merry Christmas/ Happy New Year...**

"**Is there a particular reason why you end chapters with people screaming my name?" Mira asks.**

"**Not really."**

"**Riiiight."**


	6. Reunited with Some Friends

"**Ha ha, chapter 6," Breezyfeather says happily. "I haven't done an intro in a while... hm."**

"**Oh, really?" Volt asks quietly.**

"**Really," Shun says.**

"**Is the violence gonna die down?" Lync asks.**

"**Hope so," Shadow mutters.**

"**Hush," Breezyfeather snaps. "I finally got Tales of Symphonia! It's gonna come in the mail in a week or so. I bought Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World at Gamestop! I was gonna buy a Bakugan game, but as we were checking out I spotted it and I asked the lady if I could switch it and she let me. I am so very happy!"**

"**Wonderful," Dan mutters. "Are you done yet?"**

"**Shut up, Dan," Runo says. "So rude."**

"**Hey!"**

"**Just be quiet," Julie laughs. Dan glares at her but shuts up.**

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

Runo was resting in her room, her hands clasped under her head as she stared at the ceiling, immersed in thought. She wondered what Hydron had meant earlier, and if her strange power that she had exhibited yesterday.

Yesterday they had arrived at the palace and given rooms to stay in, while Spectra escorted Runo to her room and left her there. Runo assumed that he had gone to meet up with Prince Hydron or something. She had been to tired to bother searching for a way out, for by then, the sun had sank below the horizon. She had taken a quick shower and snacked on something in the cabinet in her room, then collapsed on her bed and fell asleep. She had changed into a night gown and when she woke in the morning, her clothes were clean and neatly folded on the desk.

Then Spectra had come again and given her a bagel. She had scarfed it down eagerly and then he escorted her to the other Vexos, keeping his mouth shut. Runo had thought of a few nasty things to say to him to fill the silence, but she had bit her tongue, not wanting to revisit yesterday's events. Now Runo thought about what had happened earlier that day, trying to piece together some of the puzzle Volt had left her with.

The palace was massive. That was for sure.

Runo had long since lost track of the many twists and turns that the hallway had taken. Left, right, left, left, right, straight, straight, left, left, right, straight... Runo couldn't keep track. Her feet were beginning to ache from all the walking. It didn't seem to bother Mylene or Spectra, both of which were by her sides. Gus trailed behind her and Shadow beside Mylene, like a puppy. A sadistic wolf puppy. Volt was a little ahead while Lync walked beside him. It was almost amusing how the largest and smallest of the Vexos got along so well.

Runo sighed, growing weary, and had gotten lost in thought. It must have been for a little while, for now the group had come to a stop. Runo only noticed when she bumped into Volt, who turned slightly to glance at her. "Sorry," she said automatically, deciding to be respectful of the one Vexos that seemed decent. He didn't respond and then the massive door in front of them slid open nearly silently. Runo blinked in surprise, looking around. Then, she gasped.

She was looking into a massive throne room, about 7 times the size of her house! She couldn't believe how large it was, and for only one person sitting on a chair against the wall! Personally, she thought that was ridiculous. The walls were a cream color and the floor gray. And then, at the far wall, the prince stood with his back turned to them. It was then that Runo caught a glimpse at what he was looking at and she gasped in horror.

There were five huge bronze statues forming a semi circle behind his throne. All of them she recognized, but there was one that meant the most to her out of all of them. She felt tears stinging her eyes and she pushed past Mylene and Lync, sprinting toward the statue of Tigrerra.

"Tigrerra!" she cried out, skidding to a halt in front of it. The prince smirked, catching sight of the blue haired girl in obvious distress. She stared up at the giant statue of her friend, tears threatening to spill over her eyelids. She couldn't believe it. Her best friend, crystallized, and placed in a room as if she were nothing but a coat rack! Runo was outraged, distraught, and baffled at the same time. Who would be so cruel?

Her answer came when a warm hand touched down on her shoulder. Runo jumped in surprise, then turned in anger, tears falling down her cheeks. "What did you do to her, you creep!" she shouted.

"Me? I myself did nothing. It was all my staff," Prince Hydron said smoothly, taking a casual step back. It was clear that he saw her as no threat. Runo hissed in anger, clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides. She knew that she wouldn't be able to attack him or she would be taken down by the Vexos or the guards standing at various points in the room. She was so infuriated that she saw red and wanted nothing more than to pounce on Hydron and whack him with a baseball bat until he was unconscious in the hospital.

"I understand that you are Runo Misaki, the owner of this marvelous Haos Bakugan," Hydron continued, smirking at her. He rested one elbow in his hand and twirled a lock of his hair, a strangely feminine habit that Runo was confused about. "I am delighted to have you here."

"Save it, you royal brat," Runo snarled. "And state your own name before asking anothers."

"How rude," Hydron said, his gaze darkening. "But true. I am Prince Hydron. But I'm sure you already knew that. My collection is quiet impressive, is it not?"

"Impressive? Are you kidding me? You freeze Bakugan and put them in your throne room, now allowing them movement or speech, and you expect me to find that _impressive_? What the heck is wrong with you!" Runo managed to get a handle on her anger and she sighed, shaking. "Look, I just want to go home. But since I've been brought here, I might as well want my friends back, too. Let them go!" Runo demanded. Hydron glared at her, turning and walking back to his throne. Runo didn't move.

"Ah, I did not expect the Haos battler of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers to be so rude," Hydron said, turning back to her with a smirk back on his face. Runo's lip curled in disgust. _He's so much like Masquerade it's freaky_, Runo thought. "You should mind your manners, Runo," he said. "Otherwise, things might get ugly."

"Yeah, whatever," Runo grumbled, too soft for him to hear.(**WOO HOO ITS 2011)**

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Hydron asked. Runo glared at him. He closed his eyes, still smirking, and sighed. "Fine, if that's the way you want to do things."

"Just give me back Tigrerra and the others," Runo said, trying to calm the anger that had flared up inside of her. "Look, I'll stay here and be cooperative with you and the others, if you'll just give me back my Bakugan and my friends' Bakugan." It was hard for her to say that, because she was so mad at all of them for ripping her from her home and bringing her here. She would have happily pounced on Hydron and pulled his hair out, but being brought here gave her something to bargain for that might actually be given. Tigrerra meant very much to Runo, and she knew how much the other Bakugan meant to Julie, Alice, Marucho, and Shun. She had to try to get them back for them.

Prince Hydron was silent, staring at her. His grin had faded away and he now gazed at her seriously. Runo kept her gaze narrowed but not outright hostile as she looked back at him. The Vexos watched with narrowed eyes, Shadow sitting on the floor, Mylene with her hand on her hip, Volt and Spectra with crossed arms, and Gus with his hands in his pockets. Lync had his fists clenched at his sides, smirking. Hydron's eyes left Runo and he seemed to be thinking about something. Runo crossed her fingers, dropping her narrowed gaze and allowing it be replaced with a hopeful expression.

Hydron's eyes were closed, and now he smirked and opened them again, looking straight at Runo, who stiffened. "Fine. But you're not allowed to leave."

_I wasn't allowed to leave in the first place, so why should that change anything?_ Runo wondered. Then, his words registered in her mind and, in complete disbelief, her face broke into a wide, radiant smile. The Vexos all blinked and glanced at each other while Hydron didn't noticed because he had turned away. He walked up to his throne and pressed a few buttons on it, allowing a large, metal control panel to rise out of the floor.

Runo stared at it in surprise, an expression crossed between curiosity and fear clouding her face. She turned away, looking up at Tigrerra. "Just a little longer, Tig," she whispered, clasping her hands in front of her heart.

Hydron walked over to the control panel and easily pressed a combination of keys, forming a code that rose up into the center of the screen. Suddenly, Tigrerra and the other Bakugan began to glow, earning a gasp of surprise from Runo.

Hydron twirled a piece of his hair around his finger in anticipation and annoyance. Why had he allowed her to take the Bakugan from him? They were his trophies, his own possessions. His collection. He had been waiting for months and months to have all six of them, and now he had none. By giving them back to the girl, he was giving up what he desired very much. Silently, he glared at Runo's back, then remembered that anger would not earn him any respect from the girl. By showing her that she made him angry, he would be giving her a weapon, so to speak. It would be like a key. If she found out what made him mad, she would use it to unlock him and get what she wanted. But he wasn't going to allow that to happen. If she had already won in that argument and had gotten back her team's Bakugan, then so be it. Hydron would just have to keep a straight face and deal with it.

They stood in the room, waiting for the Bakugan to break free of their fossilized state for a good ten minutes, yet all of them remained silent. Suddenly, the light intensified, and Runo gasped, staring up at Tigrerra. All of the Vexos turned away from the intensity of the light, but Runo was unaffected. Then, a loud sound similar to glass breaking was heard and Runo gasped in surprise. The color had returned to Tigrerra and the others, and now Tigrerra was blinking in confusion.

"Tigrerra!" Runo cried happily. Tigrerra gasped, looking up out of habit for Runo's voice. Suddenly, all of the Bakugan glowed, shrinking down to their ball forms. Runo gasped, running forward and kneeling by Tigrerra, cupping her in her hands. "Tigrerra, I was so worried about you!" Runo whispered, holding the Haos Bakugan to her cheek.

"I'm happy to see you too, Runo!" Tigrerra said, her happiness showing through her voice. "But what are you doing here?" Concern drifted through now and Runo jumped, realizing that she was still in the presence of the enemy. She sighed, looking down at Tigrerra with a mixture of sadness and happiness on her face.

"They kidnapped me."

"Who kidnapped you?" Preyas asked, bouncing over to Runo and Tigrerra. Runo's face broke into a smile at the other four Bakugan on the floor next to her. They all bounced closer and Runo greeted them happily.

"Gorem, Skyrus, Preyas, Hydranoid! I haven't seen you guys in forever!" she said.

"How is Julie doing, Runo?" Gorem asked in his deep voice.

"Or, how about, Alice?" Hydranoid questioned.

"How is my Shun?" Skyrus asked.

"Or Marucho, huh? Is he still being a good kid?" Preyas demanded, bouncing up and down. Runo giggled a little bit at their eagerness.

"They're all doing great! Julie has been staying with me at the cafe for a while, Gorem. The last time I checked on Alice was I think last week. And Marucho and Shun left with Dan and Drago to come to New Vestroia a while ago..." Runo trailed off softly, looking upset. The Bakugan exchanged glances and Skyrus spoke up.

"How about you tell us later?" she suggested. Runo nodded.

"The Vexos over there kidnapped me," Runo whispered, holding out her hands. Tigrerra took up her spot on Runo's shoulder while Gorem, Hydranoid and Preyas all climbed into Runo's hands. Skyrus floated in the air by Runo, staying close. Runo stood up and turned back to the Vexos with a sigh, walking back toward them. She stopped in front of Hydron, staying a few feet away from him in case he tried to take Tigrerra back.

"Thank you... for letting me take them back," Runo murmured, her eyes flicking to her shoes and she bowed slightly. Hydron smirked.

"What can I say? I'm a man of many generosities," he said smoothly, sitting down on his throne. Runo looked down at the floor and felt her lip curl in annoyance, but stepped back to the Vexos almost mechanically. She didn't want to go back to them, but she knew that she owed them for getting her Bakugan back. She'd have to be cooperative for now.

"With that out of the way, I'd like to get to the point," Hydron said, resting his head on his fist and twirling a lock of hair with his index finger. He had crossed his legs and looked at ease there on his throne where he could give orders and be confident they would be obeyed. "I'm sure you're wondering, Runo, why you were taken from your home so forcefully a few days ago."

"Of course I'm wondering that," Runo growled, lowly.

"Calm down, Runo," Tigrerra whispered.

"Tigrerra is right, Runo," Skyrus said. Runo sighed.

"Wait, you ordered that? I thought that was just Spectra deciding to get Dan ticked off," Runo said, glancing back at the Pyrus Vexos, who's mouth was creased in a frown. Preyas had caught sight of him as well and didn't bother to suppress his surprise.

"Uh, is it just me, or does anybody else get the feeling that we're not wanted here?" Preyas asked. Runo glanced at him as he decided to float in the air near her as well.

"Hush, Preyas," Gorem said. Preyas was about to protest but Tigrerra jumped slightly on Runo's shoulder, and Preyas obviously understood the message as he was quiet.

"No, it was not just Spectra trying to make _Dan_ mad." Hydron spat the name as if it were something revolting he had found on his plate. "It was a well organized plan, Runo," he smirked, returning to his almost playful, sadistic attitude. "And you were a key part. Your friends, Alice and Julie, were also part of it."

"Julie?" Gorem asked.

"Alice?" Hydranoid exclaimed. "If you've hurt her... you'll pay... a very heavy price."

"Relax, we've done nothing to them," Hydron said, shrugging his shoulders and raising his hands. "They've still managed to... elude us." Runo sighed in relief. "However, we still have you, and you're all that we need. For now."

"What?" Runo gasped.

"Take her back to her room, Volt," Hydron said. "I have something to discuss with you, Vexos."

Then Volt had escorted Runo back to her room, but before leaving her, he had said, "You can think about this with your Bakugan friends. Listen closely, for this is the only time I'll tell it to you. If you ask me to repeat it tomorrow or even an hour later, I will deny ever telling it to you in the first place. Understand?"

"Uh, I guess," Runo said, beyond confused.

"Listen closely, then."

"S_ix Elementals_

_one of fire_

_one of wind_

_one of water_

_one of darkness_

_one of light_

_one of earth_

_each has a power_

_each has a weakness_

_united they stand_

_divided they fall_

_their power is limitless_

_a force to be challenged_

_each bears a symbol_

_each plays a part_

_none are aware_

_Ka_

_Kaze_

_Mizu_

_Yami_

_Hikari_

_Chiky__ū_"

Volt fell silent, then turned and walked away. Runo stared after him in confusion before the door closed in front of her and she was forced to retreat into her room.

Now she went over this in her mind, unable to make sense of it. She knew that the last few words Volt had said to her were Japanese. Ka meant fire. Kaze meant wind. Mizu meant water. Yami meant darkness. Hikari meant light. Chikyū meant earth. But the riddle was what troubled her.

"Runo, I've missed you so much," Tigrerra said, jolting Runo out of her reverie. She blinked in surprise, still unused to having her partner around again. She sat up and smiled.

"I've missed you too, Tigrerra," Runo told her, holding her in her hands.

"So what exactly happened to get you here?" Skyrus asked, floating a little above Runo. Runo sighed as Preyas, Gorem and Hydranoid all floated over to her, sitting on the bed. Runo moved her hands up to her shoulder, allowing Tigrerra to rest there as she crossed her legs.

"Well, a few days ago, I was working at my cafe when it was closing time. I was cleaning up and then the door opened, and I turned around and Spectra was standing there. Well, Spectra and Gus."

"Who?" Preyas asked.

"Two of that group in Prince Hydron's throne room," Runo said.

"Oh," Preyas said. "Well, what did they do?"

"We weren't exactly on friendly terms the last time we met," Runo continued. "He kidnapped me when I returned to Earth after an accident with a dimensional transporter. He was holding me hostage against Dan to try to get him to join the Vexos and give him Drago."

"He kidnapped you?" Skyrus interrupted.

"What are the Vexos?" Preyas asked.

"The Vexos are those brawlers in Hydron's throne room. Spectra was the one in the red feathered coat. And yeah, he kidnapped me. We were standing in the room with the transporter and Dan was shouting at them to leave, and then Spectra said, 'Fine then. I'll go. But I want a souvenir,' and he grabbed me and jumped through the skylight," Runo told them. Her gaze darkened. "That feathered freak..."

"Would you please continue, My Lady?" Tigrerra asked politely. Runo nodded.

"So they showed up in my cafe a few days ago. We exchanged a few words and then I ran into the back of the cafe and up to our rooms. I locked the doors behind me. I hid in a cabinet in my parents' bathroom. I called 911. But in the end they got me and transported us back to New Vestroia. They took me to a city called Gama City and put in a room with a Vestal I know, Mira."

"A Vestal?" Gorem asked.

"Yeah. Mira Fermin. She's the leader of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance," Runo said. Then, she looked at Hydranoid with a grin. "She, like all the others, didn't realize that Bakugan were intelligent creatures. But then she went to visit her father at work one day and found that they were fossilizing one of our Bakugan. She said that you spoke and made her wake up to the truth."

"She was that Vestal... who appeared... when I was being tortured?" Hydranoid asked. Runo nodded. "She did seem... surprised... when I spoke... to her," he said.

"Yeah," Runo said softly. "Anyway, we were in the same room, and after a disastrous breakfast Spectra hurt me and Mira helped me back to our room, and then she used her Bakugan, Wilda, to try to break us out. She got away but she destroyed the place in the process, destroying the Dimension Controller, too."

"Dimension Controller?" Skyrus asked.

"Hey, is that what's keeping us in ball form in our home?" Preyas asked. Runo nodded.

"Yeah, or at least that's what Mira told us when she came to Earth with Dan and Barron. So you'd have to destroy the dimension controllers to free you guys. And they were doing that and hit bumps in the road when I showed up... but when Mira managed to escape I choked on the smoke and I guess I went unconscious, and when I woke up I was sort of floating above Helios' hand. It was white everywhere. And then when they started chasing me, I floated up like I did in our test, Tigrerra," she said to her Bakugan. Tigrerra gasped.

"Like when you protected me and disintegrated the arrow?" she cried.

"What do you mean?" Gorem asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean – Hey, Gorem, stop stealing all of my lines!" Preyas cried.

"Let it go, Preyas," Gorem said.

"No I will not let it go!"

"Hush, you two!" Skyrus ordered. Both of them fell silent.

"When Runo and I were taking our test with the Six Ancient Warriors," Tigrerra said, "Runo protected me from one of Lars Lions' arrows. And then she made it vanish and allowed me to evolve. She was floating the whole time."

"That's strange," Hydranoid said. "But... Masquerade was... strange as well. He... and Alice... were both... the same person... however... they were... two separate people."

"That doesn't make any sense," Preyas retorted.

"Yes it does, if you think about it," Gorem intervened. "Alice and Masquerade shared the same body, but they both had two different personalities. Alice could transform into Masquerade, even if she wasn't aware of it."

"Wait, this reminds me of a chat the others and I had," Runo gasped, remembering. "After we came back. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Marucho had to go because his parents came into the room and wanted to talk to him about something," Preyas said.

"Julie's parents were video calling, so she signed off," Gorem said.

"I don't remember that... but that was probably when... Masquerade took over Alice and... went to the Doom Dimension to take his test," Hydranoid said.

"I guess," Runo said. "But we started talking about all of these weird things that had happened to us, like how when Dan battles he and Drago think as one. Or how once, when Shun battled Masquerade and Dan, this weird green tornado sprang up. And we didn't talk about this but he mentioned it to me, about when Shun was fighting Hairadee he inflicted damage on him himself."

"Or how about when Marucho battled Frosch, the sparkles went into him?" Preyas asked.

"Or how when Julie throws me into battle, she glows," Gorem suggested. Runo nodded.

"We talked about that. And Alice can transform into Masquerade, who could invoke the power of Darkus, so she has the same ability. Or at least, I think she does," Runo murmured. She remembered that she was still telling them her story. "Oh yeah. Anyway, I tried to run, they caught me again, and then they brought me up here. I spent the night and someone washed my clothes, I think... but then the Vexos brought me to Hydron's throne room and I demanded that you guys be set free." She trailed off there, biting her lip.

"Runo, what did you bargain with?" Tigrerra asked sharply.

"I just said that I would cooperate," Runo retorted. "And I will. Or at least, I won't be as nasty."

"Runo, I believe that you should abide by your word and do as they say," Skyrus said. "It might keep you out of trouble until Dan and the others arrive to aid your escape."

"But what if they don't make it here in time?" Runo asked.

"In time for what?" Preyas questioned. Runo looked at her hands, feeling tears sting her eyes. She lay back, her head on her pillow.

"When they took me, I had a week until Christmas. Now I have four days. My parents are probably worried sick, and Dan was going to take me out on a date on Christmas. He promised me that he'd come back," she said, covering her eyes with her arm to hide her tears. "He promised me that we'd spend Christmas together. But if I stay here then we won't be able to..." She sniffed, the tears spilling over.

"Oh, don't cry," Tigrerra murmured, jumping over to Runo's head. She managed to push a hair out of her face with her little arm and Skyrus floated over to her other side.

"It'll all be fine," she reassured Runo, sounding like a grandma.

"Don't cry, Runo," Gorem said. "Julie would want you to remain cheerful."

"Yeah, that way you'd be able to show those Vexos that they can't break you!" Preyas exclaimed.

"I agree... with Preyas... and Gorem," Hydranoid said. Runo choked on a sob and sat up, wiping her eyes.

"Thank you," she said in a strangled voice. She cupped Tigrerra in her hand and rubbed her cheek against her in place of a hug. She smiled at Skyrus and Gorem, then tapped Preyas lightly on the head and grinned at Hydranoid. Her eyes were a little red, but otherwise she was okay.

"You're right," she said with greater confidence. "We'll show them!"

"Yeah!" all of them chorused.

"**And another seven paged one. Yay!" Breezyfeather says. **

"**Nice job," Shun grins.**

"**Thank you," Breezyfeather smiles. Dan sighs.**

"**So you're updating regularly now?"**

"**I'll do my best. I have to work on my other fanfictions, too, so the one I'll try to update now is Drago's Dilemma, since I've almost finished that chapter, then I'll update this, then I'll revise the one in Dan and Runo's LegendProphecy(Which was supposed to be Dan and Runo's Legend/Prophecy, but the thing had an issue -.-) and update that one, then update this again. Hopefully by then this will be finished. Okay? Okay."**

"**Whatever," Jake says with a grin.**

"**Don't make me send you back to Kazarina."**

"**Shut up!"**

"**Make me."**

"**Do you really want me to?"**

**Breezyfeather sweatdops. "No thanks."**

"**Smart move," Dan says.**

"**Do _you_ want to go back to Kazarina?"**

"**If I can beat her and that mutt of hers then sure."**

"**..."**


	7. Julie and Dan's Master Plan

"**And now for chapter 7. Who says I should stick with Dan and Mira and the others for this one?" Breezy calls**

"**Me!" Julie yells.**

"**Me!" Alice says.**

"**I'm up for it," Ace grins.**

"**Sure," Shun says quietly.**

"**Yeah!" Dan cries.**

"**Okay then." Breezyfeather swings her golf club at Dan.**

"**Hey!"**

"**What?"**

"**What was that for?"**

"**I got bored."**

"**..."**

"**..."**

"**STOP ENDING IN AN AWKWARD SILENCE!"**

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

Dan sighed, leaning back on his bed. Thoughts of Runo being at the mercy of the Vexos and Hydron swirled around his head light a cloud of gnats. Or mosquitoes. He couldn't make them go away, and he could turn them into something positive to ease his worry. He could try to slap at them, to swat them away, but in the end all of his efforts would have been wasted. So he let them assault him, each nerve racking image of Runo being tortured or starved or even killed stabbing him in the chest. He could try to ignore them, to convince himself that he was just fantasizing worst possible outcomes, but the mosquito would bite him again, pulling him back into another gruesome fear provoking nightmare. Each one would lead to another like it, each one connected by thin spider web like strands, until the one he was on at that second was completely different from the one his consciousness had conjured five minutes ago.

After a little while, he wondered, suddenly, if the Vexos had figured out about Runo's powers, like Ace had suggested. And of course, that thought led to another, bringing him back to the conversation that Dan, The Resistance, and four of the Original Battle Brawlers had shared. And then he remembered when Mira had walked in, and the shock that he and the rest of them had shared.

"_Mira?" Dan exclaimed. Mira was standing there in the doorway of the control room, one arm clasped around her elbow and shifting her weight from foot to foot. She was biting her lip nervously, her eyes darting from face to face. She had an air of defiance about her, as if daring the Resistance and the Brawlers to come and challenge her. For a moment, no one spoke out of shock. The atmosphere in the room seemed to be frozen in time. No one moved._

_Finally, Julie broke the silence._

"_Mira! What are you doing here?" That seemed to snap everyone out of it and Dan narrowed his eyes at her. Ace's lip curled while Shun looked at her evenly. Marucho and Barron looked from Mira to Dan and Ace, clearly nervous. Masquerade was silent. Mira shifted uncomfortably, then walked forward._

"_Look, I never meant to betray you. Spectra is my brother. I wanted to see if I could change him back to my brother. But it didn't work, and then they took Runo to Alpha City-"_

"_Runo?" Dan gasped._

"_You saw Runo?" Alice asked, Masquerade retreating back inside her._

"_Is she okay?" Julie demanded. Mira blinked, looking around._

"_How did you know that she had been kidnapped by Spectra and Gus?" she asked._

"_Why do you think the girls are here?" Dr. Micheal asked. Mira jumped._

"_Dr. Micheal?"_

"_Mira, what are you doing back here?" Barron asked. Mira sighed._

"_Okay, I guess I'll start from the beginning."_

"_Please do," Ace said with narrowed eyes. Mira looked at him sadly and took a deep breath, then began._

"_Okay, so I was in my room one night and I went to the bathroom, and then I heard someone knock on the door. I thought it was Spectra so I got out of the bathroom and I was shocked to see Runo sitting there on the floor looking shocked. We stared at each other for a while and eventually we spoke so I got her to tell me what had happened."_

"_What happened?" Dan demanded. Mira looked at him and continued._

"_She said that she called the police and Spectra and Gus kidnapped her. It was pretty brief but she said she was able to spray Gus with pepper spray," she said. She looked at Dan. "What's pepper spray?" Dan stared at her, then surprised her by cracking up. The others stared at him as he laughed, then Julie giggled and joined in._

"_What's so funny?" Ace asked._

"_It's... nothing, really," Dan panted. "It's just that, a few months ago Runo got really ticked off at me, so she suddenly pulled pepper spray out of her pocket and sprayed me in the eyes. Boy did it burn!"_

"_Pepper spray is this stuff that human girls will carry around when they become a teenager to ward of creepers," Drago explained. "I guess Gus fit that description." There was amusement in his voice and Mira blinked at him._

"_Anyway, this morning, Runo and I had to go to eat breakfast with the Vexos. And Runo was being defiant, and Spectra finally lost his temper when Runo poured a jug of water on Lync's head, so he walked up behind Runo's chair and tipped it. She ended up with a nice cut on her leg and I took her back to our room." Mira heard Dan mutter a rather rude name which she assumed was directed at Spectra. "Professor Clay showed up and said that he was going to care for Runo from now on, so we decided we'd try to break out, and I powered up my Gauntlet and started using Wilda to break us out. Shadow stopped us though, and Spectra got a hold of Runo and she ordered me to go. I didn't want to but she screamed at me so I did. She told me to find you guys and get help. So Wilda and I fled and found you guys here."_

"_Where is Runo now?" Shun asked._

"_Well, Gama City was basically destroyed, so probably Ves Palace," Mira said, looking at her feet. Her arms were now crossed across her chest and she looked up. "I'm sorry. I wanted to save her, but Alpha City was crumbling. I have no doubt that Spectra was able to get them all out. She's probably safe."_

"_That's good to hear," Dr. Micheal said._

"_Yeah, it is," Marucho murmured. "But if she's in Ves Palace, won't it be harder to save her?"_

"_That's a good point," Alice murmured. "But..."_

"_Hey, Shun has his Ninja Skills," Dan said. "Julie has magic skates! We're all got powers and our Bakugan! How hard can it be to break into there and save our friend?"_

"_It's pretty hard, Dan," Ace spoke up. They all turned to face him. His face was hardened and he looked angry. Dan blinked._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Getting into Ves Palace is very hard. They have a very very advanced security system." A screen popped up in the trailer. It was obviously a diagram of some sort. "Ves Palace." Ace glared at it as he pointed to a few areas. "I managed to steal these schematics from a security guard when we were raiding Alpha City. It shows perfectly the types of security Ves Palace has and where. Plus, it's automatically updated. So whenever the secutiry system changes, I'll know."_

_Then Ace went on to explain how each section of the system worked and what would be where, and an approximation on where they were keeping Runo. "The security was tightened around this sector today," Ace told them, pointing to a series of hallways. "More specifically, ten minutes ago. Mira, how long did it take you to get here from Gama City?"_

"_I dunno, maybe 20 minutes?" Mira said._

"_Hm..."_

"_Does that mean that Runo is going to be put in that area?" Julie asked._

"_It's quiet possible," Marucho said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Ace, would it be at all possible for Dr. Micheal, Alice, you and I to go over this data and see if there are any other places where the defense may have been tightened?"_

"_Sure, Marucho," Ace said. "We can do that now, if you want."_

"_Okay!" Marucho exclaimed._

"_Mira, come on outside," Dan said. "Julie and Shun were practicing with her skates. I wanna try out my crystal thing here." He held up his red gem. Mira nodded, smiling._

"_So you're not mad at me?"_

"_Nah. You just wanted to find your brother. It's fine," Dan smiled. Mira grinned back at him and followed him outside._

Dan winced, remembering the bruise he had gotten from trying to jump on Julie's roller skate road. It seemed only Shun could, for when he picked up Dan and tried to get him to stand on it he fell right through and onto his shoulder. He would have to work on that.

However, the crystal that Barron had given him was amazing! When he had said, "Pyrus, Activate!" the way Barron told him to, suddenly he was surrounded by fire. It had swirled around him, encasing him, even though it didn't so much as singe his clothes. Then, he found that he had wings of fire licking at his back, in the shape of diamonds like his crystal, which had decided to hang from a chain around his neck. The fire around him vanished but the wings stayed and allowed him to fly through the air.

Shun found a similar effect when he called out, "Ventus Activate!" He didn't have wings, but the wind sure did blow around him. He seemed to be even more stealthy, and his gem rested on the back of his hand.

Julie's brown gem had enveloped her in brown, earthy energy and the smell of freshly cut grass. It had rested over her heart on a chain like Dan. Her roller skates performed more efficiently and when she moved her hand a certain way, a rock could jump up from the ground and shoot forward. Shun sure had one heck of a training session.

Alice hadn't tried her gem since her run in with Masquerade, and neither had Marucho, but Dan knew that whatever happened to them must be rather interesting.

And then his thoughts drifted back to Runo once more. Runo. The girl he had met when he was so young, and he had never even dreamed back then that he would end up with her being his girl friend. She had been such a whiny little girl, with a good arm but a terrible swing. She couldn't hit the ball with the bat for her life! Dan grinned a little at that. The memory of her spinning on the plate in her pink dress was enough to lift his spirits for a moment. She had fallen in the dirt and Dan had laughed, and then the game continued, him hitting every ball she threw and her missing every ball he threw. It had been hilarious.

Dan knew that if he ever brought that up with her she would hit him or something. He had brought it up with her once and never dared to again because of the bruising she had given him. If he got her back he might just bring it up to see her back to normal again. Wait, "if"? When. When he got her back. He told himself that he _would_ get her back. He would get her back if it was the last thing he did. He would save her.

_I have to buy her a Christmas present_, was his next entirely random thought. He gasped, sitting up from where he had been lying on his bed. A Christmas Present! It was only a few days until Christmas! How could he forget?

"Daniel? What's wrong?" Drago asked. Dan glanced at his Bakugan partner in distress.

"Runo! Christmas! I have to get her a Christmas present!" he cried. Drago stared at him.

"Daniel, shouldn't you wait until you save her from the Vexos before worrying about a Christmas present?" Drago asked.

"What are you, crazy?" Dan exclaimed. "I have to get her a gift! If I don't I won't be a very good boyfriend!"

"Oh so you finally admitted that you're her boyfriend," Drago said with a hint of amusement. Dan stared at Drago.

"Is that really what you're focusing on, Drago? My personal love life?" Dan couldn't believe it. His face started to heat up against his will and Drago laughed.

"You never cease to amuse me, human," he said. Dan's face got even redder as the Bakugan laughed. Finally, Dan looked away, still blushing.

"So... um... do you have any... gift ideas for Runo?" he asked quietly. Drago fell silent as he looked at his brawler. His face was blushing bright red as he looked away. "I want to get her something... special for this Christmas... I guess to make up for letting her get captured..."

"You want to make it up to her?" Drago asked.

"Well, yeah," Dan said, looking back at his Bakugan. "I mean, if you let your girlfriend get kidnapped wouldn't you want to say you're sorry?"

"I guess so," Drago said. Dan guessed that he was thinking about Wavyrn and felt a pang of guilt. It wasn't fair that Drago had to be ripped away from the one he loved. Dan knew that for sure. He know understood some of the pain that he must have went through when he killed her.

"I wanna get her something that she'll like a lot..." Dan murmured.

"Well what does she like?" Drago asked.

"Well I know she likes brawling," Dan said. "She liked the color orange... why the heck does she like orange anyway? Um... her favorite food is Liver Kabobs, she's a tomboy and doesn't like dresses very much... she was telling Julie a few months ago that she needed some new hair ties... um... well I guess that Spectra took her Pepper Spray, didn't he? hm... Oh she needs a Gauntlet to battle in New Vestroia!"

"So you're going to get her a Gauntlet?" Drago asked.

"Sure, that would be a great gift for Runo!" Dan cried.

"Oh, you really don't know anything about girls do you, Dan?" a voice muttered. Dan and Drago jumped.

"Huh?" Drago asked, turning. Dan blinked, catching sight of Julie standing in the door way. She was wearing her roller skates and now she skated into the room.

"Julie?" Dan asked, standing up.

"Oh Dan," she smiled. "You wanna get Runo a gift for Christmas?"

"Huh? You were eavesdropping?" Dan exclaimed. Julie glared at him.

"No I wasn't eavesdropping! I just happened to hear you say that you wanted to get a gift for Runo and I wanted to know what you were thinking about getting her! And besides, I'm her best friend! If anyone knows what to get Runo for Christmas, it's me," she grinned.

"Okay then, Julie," Dan smiled. "What do you think I should get her?"

"Well, didn't you already say some things that you thought Runo would like?" Julie asked, sitting down on the bed. Dan sat down next to her, Drago resting on his shoulder.

"I thought a Gauntlet would be good for her," Dan said. Julie sighed.

"No, Dan. Sure, she wants a Gauntlet, but do you really think that that's a good 'I'm Sorry' gift?"

"Well... now that I think about it... I guess not," Dan said slowly, looking away.

"Mhm," Julie said. "What else did you say that she wanted?"

"Well, maybe a new set of hair ties," Dan mumbled. "But I don't even know where to get hair ties on Earth, let alone here."

"Oh Dan come on! You can ask one of the others where the nearest town is," Julie exclaimed. Dan looked at her and sighed.

"Fine. But if I'm going shopping for things for Runo, you're coming with me, Julie."

"What?" she cried. "But I don't know anything about Vestal money!"

"Well neither do I! We're gonna have to borrow some from Mira and the others," Dan muttered. "And besides, you're a girl so you know what sort of thing would be good for Runo."

"Ugh, fine Danny," Julie scowled. Then her face brightened. "Ooooh this will be fun!"

"Oh boy," Drago muttered.

"Okay then Julie, meet me at the top of the trailer at midnight," Dan said. "Then we can get to the nearest town and stuff. We'll find the best store for Runo and then go in there when it opens in the morning. Sound good?"

"Sure thing, Dan!" Julie said, getting up. "I'll ask Ace how Vestal Currency works. And later you should ask Barron for a map of the nearest cities and towns. Just say you're worried about them relocating Runo."

"Wow Julie, you're really smart," Dan exclaimed. "I didn't know you had a knack for making plans."

"Lets just say that when you hang with Runo you learn a thing or two," Julie grinned, skating out the door. Dan blinked after her and looked at Drago.

"Looks like we're going on a Moonlight Mission," he grinned.

"**Hm. That took WAY less time than I thought it would to write that chapter," Breezy says, staring at the screen. "Considering I started that at the mall around 4:30... well actually that was in the passenger seat of my dad's car... ugh never mind. But I started it today. Normally it takes me a day or two."**

"**That's because you're normally overloaded by homework," Shun says. "And that chapter is shorter than normal."**

"**Hm. That's true. Ugh. Anyway, chapter... whatever number we're on, done!"**


	8. Snow: Beautiful but Deadly

"**And now for chapter 8," Breezyfeather says. "Runo's part!"**

"**Fun," Ren says.**

"**I still don't trust Ren as far as I can throw him," the Fabia on the computer screen says.**

"**You know, I really think that that doesn't really fit with Fabia," Runo says.**

"**Yeah, cause she can throw Dan pretty far. What makes anyone think that she can't throw Ren farther?" Jake asks. Fabia glares at him. "Oh yeah, and she can even throw SHUN! Man, that has to be tough!"**

"**Okay, the one person I wouldn't be able to throw would be Jake. I throw Dan, Shun, Ren, Marucho, anyone weighing under 150 pounds," she says. **

"**You measure?" Breezyfeather asks.**

"**... Maybe."**

Runo sighed, lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. It was dark in her room and she guessed that it was some time around midnight. Briefly she wondered why she couldn't sleep, but she didn't brood on that thought for very long. She was more concerned with getting away. It was night after all. None of them would be expecting her to be up at this hour. But what if they had installed security cameras in her room? She doubted that they would have done that, but she sat up slowly anyway.

Her hair was down, some of it resting on the pillow as she looked around the dark room. She was wearing a white pair of long sleeved pajamas with pants. They were completely plain and reminded Runo of Joe's hospital garments when they first met him. She sighed, standing up and walking over to the far wall, which was really just one large window made of very thick glass. There was a seat against it where the window met the wall and she sat down there, wrapping the blanket she had taken form the bed around her shoulders as she stared out into the dark night.

It was gray all around her and Runo was puzzled that she couldn't see the starry night. It was nothing like when she had been caught between dimensions, when the sky was streaked with purple and blue and stars were scattered around in random spirals. Instead, it was just... gray. Desolate. Runo didn't quite understand.

Then she noticed a familiar swirling in the air. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized what it was. It was snowing on New Vestroia! She was tempted to smile as the snow sparkled in the light of the palace and spiraled through the sky, spinning and twisting as it danced its way through the air. It was enough to lift her spirits and soon she found herself smiling as the tiny white crystals dove and swirled through the air less than 2 feet from her form, yet she could feel none of the chill the beauty of the frozen water droplets brought with them. It was peaceful.

"Runo, what are you doing up this late?" Tigrerra asked softly. Runo jumped, breaking out of the trance that the snow had locked her in. Runo looked at the small Haos Bakugan and then back out the window into the swirling snow storm.

"I couldn't sleep," she murmured, taking Tigrerra into her hands. "But look. It's snowing," she smiled. Tigrerra shifted her gaze out into the swirling snow, taking in the sparkling snowflakes as they spun and flew through the sky. The two sat there in a companionable silence for a little while, just letting the snowfall calm them. When Runo broke it, she seemed timid.

"Tigrerra? Can I ask a favor of you?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, My Lady," Tigrerra said. "What is it?"

"Do you think that it's possible for you to maybe take one of the others and go find Dan?" Runo murmured. "He's with the Resistance somewhere in a huge white trailer... or at least that's what I remember. If he's not there then can you come back?"

"Runo, I can't leave you here alone," Tigrerra exclaimed. Runo looked at her and sighed.

"Well I need one of you guys to go and find Dan and bring him back here. That way I'll be able to get out," Runo said. "And we'll get answers. And then we can get revenge on Hydron and Spectra."

"Runo, I don't believe that revenge is the best reason for finding Dan. I understand that we must depart for your well being, however. I just don't think that it is wise for me to leave. You will be left here with the others, yes, but Hydron and the others will expect me to be by your side. I am your partner, Runo, and it is my responsibility to watch over you and make sure that no harm comes to you." Runo smiled at her partner and was about to open her mouth to say something, but Tigrerra continued.

"Runo, I care about you. You are my partner and my friend. I have let you down. I must make that up to you. I will always be by your side, Runo. I promise you that from now on I'll always be there when you need me."

"Tigrerra," Runo whispered. She smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

"Hey, what are you two doing up so late?" Preyas asked, bouncing over to them.

"Yes, what are you doing up at this hour?" Skyrus questioned them.

"I am curious to know that as well," Gorem said in his deep voice.

"Would you... care to tell... us Runo?" Hydranoid asked. Runo and Tigrerra exchanged glances and Runo turned back to them.

"I need three of you guys to go and find Dan and the others," Runo told them. "That way, we'll all be able to get out. Tigrerra can't go because the Vexos will be suspicious. And I'd like maybe Skyrus to stay here with us as well."

"But we can't just leave you here," Gorem protested.

"Yeah, Gorem's right," Preyas said. "You'll still be here."

"Yeah, well, I won't be able to get out unless you find Dan and tell him where he can find me. Also, I'm gonna need you to tell him that they had a plan to get Alice, Julie and I. They needed us for something, and it wasn't just to get Dan mad at Spectra," she said. "They need to know that. And if it's you guys that go then the Vexos won't be as suspicious. They'll maybe think that you betrayed me to go and find Marucho, Julie and Alice. Or maybe that you just got lost wandering the palace. I dunno, I'll think of something."

"Alright Runo," Preyas said. "We'll go! Besides, I kinda wanna see Marucho again."

"Julie would be very pleased with your plan Runo," Gorem said.

"Alice... maybe not be here... but she would be proud as well," Hydranoid praised Runo. She smiled at them.

"I think that you guys should try to find a way out now," Runo said softly. "I doubt that they're watching me right now, so you guys should use this to your advantage. Find a way outside and then look for the Resistance's trailer."

"You got it, Runo!" Preyas said. She grinned, then got an idea.

"I think I'll try something tonight, too," she said, smirking and standing.

Within minutes, Runo was dressed and ready to go. She walked over to the door and looked at it curiously in the dark, unable to find a way to open it from the inside. There was a keypad near the door and a button there that read "Emergency", but Runo didn't think about pressing it. If she did, it would alert the Vexos and probably diminish her chances of getting out.

She turned away from the button, running her fingers over the door. Preyas and the others hovered nearby, Preyas a little too close to the button for comfort. Runo didn't notice though, and then she found herself looking at the button again. The small red circle with the white word "Emergency" printed across it. A small caption underneath said, "Warning: Alarm will sound". Runo stared at it, then stood up, placing her hand over the small red device.

"What are you doing?" Skyrus asked. Runo looked at her, then pressed sharply down on the button. A huge, sharp alarm tore through the building, making Runo jump. The door in front of her sprung open and she sprinted through it without hesitation, her Bakugan friends following as she dashed down the hall.

"Runo, was that wise?" Skyrus asked.

"I dunno. We've gotta try to get out though," Runo responded.

"Someone's coming," Gorem warned. Runo gasped, skidding to a halt as a few soldiers ran by. None of them stopped for Runo, which puzzled her. Maybe they thought she was still in her cell. If that was the case, then she'd have to really step on it. Runo ducked around the corner, Tigrerra fighting to stay on her shoulder.

Suddenly, they passed a huge open doorway. Runo gasped as a blast of cold air slapped her in the face. Her arms were instantly overcome with goose bumps and she shivered, turning her gaze to the source of the freezing air. She was standing in the doorway to an open chamber in the palace, and the ships for the Vexos were currently docked there. Runo glanced around, scanning for the said Vexos. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a fire alarm and Hydranoid followed her gaze, hurrying to pull it down. "That way... the Vexos... won't think she pulled it," Hydranoid explained to Preyas.

"Oh I get it!" he said.

"Runo, this way!" Gorem urged. Runo nodded, dashing after the Sub-Terra Bakugan. Tigrerra and Skyrus stayed close to Runo as Preyas and Hydranoid lagged slightly behind. Gorem led Runo to the edge of the hanger, the huge gap in the wall that allowed ships to pass through and take flight. Runo stood at the edge of it, suddenly at a loss at what to do.

"Are there any parachutes around?" she asked Tigrerra, who looked around the room. After a moment, she sighed.

"No, Runo."

"Then... I guess I'm not getting out of here for a while, am I?" Runo asked.

"You got that right, girly," a laughing voice came from behind her. Runo jumped, whirling around to see Shadow Prove standing in the doorway to the hanger. He was smirking, standing clearly relaxed and confident that she wouldn't be able to escape. "You're not getting out of here for a long time. Now come on back with us before Prince Hydron gets mad." Runo stares at him, she and the Bakugan frozen around her. "Running is useless. You're not going anywhere. And your friends aren't coming for you."

"He's right. We've seen them," Mylene smirked, coming up behind him. "They're all going on as if you never existed. They don't care."

"Yeah right," Runo muttered. "Shut up!" But she could feel something inside of her falter. Were they really continuing on as if they had never met? Did they really not care? Julie and Alice, surely they at least had heard.

"Your friends on Earth, the Sub-Terra Brawler and the Darkus Brawler," Spectra said, pushing past the two Vexos, "they don't care. They both know and they both don't think it matters. Julie just went back home and Alice didn't even sound upset on the phone when Julie told her."

"What?" Runo whispered. Julie? Alice? They really didn't care? Julie just went home? Alice didn't even seem upset? But that didn't make sense.

"Julie wouldn't do that," Gorem protested in Runo's ear, but every sound was drowned out as Spectra held up a picture. Runo's eyes widened in horror and despair as she recognized the figure depicted. The familiar mocha skin, the white blond hair. It was Julie, sitting on a plane reading a magazine. Runo couldn't believe it, and the date was printed on the corner of the picture. 12/20/10.

Runo fell to her knees, her eyes wide open in shock. They had abandoned her. They didn't care. And Spectra wouldn't shut up.

"And Dan. Oh Dan. Julie had asked Alice to pass on the message to Dan, thinking that he deserved to know that his _girlfriend_ had been kidnapped. But when he connected with him, when she told him, he didn't care. I have an audio recording from him, even, if you'd like to listen."

"Play it anyway, Spectra," Shadow laughed.

"Very well." Spectra pulled out a small device and tossed it to Runo so that she'd be able to hear it over the wind rushing in her ears. It landed in front of her and then began to play.

"She was taken yesterday during a snow storm," Alice explained in a monotone, sounding unconcerned like Spectra had said.. "Her parents went out to get some groceries and Julie was getting a hot chocolate for both of them at Starbucks and some of Runo's favorite cookies. The Wardington Police got a call from her saying that two people broke into her house."

"Are you serious?" Shun asked. He didn't sound interested, but Runo didn't remember that he was good at guarding his emotions, and she misread it. It sounded like he also wasn't upset by her disappearance.

"That's terrible." Baron said, but he, too, sounded like he didn't care. Runo couldn't believe it.

"I'm not done," Alice said. "They played back the call for us, and she said that two teenage boys broke into my house. She know they're interested in kidnapping her. The lady on the other end of the line asked how she knew that and she said that they kidnapped her a few months ago. I think that was when you guys came back from New Vestroia and -"

"Spectra got her," Dan interrupted her. But he didn't seem concerned. He said it with a finalization that scared Runo, because it sounded like he could care less. The tears stung her eyes and Tigrerra noticed.

"Runo, Runo snap out of it! They're lying!"

"Runo, listen to Tigrerra," Skyrus told Runo. "The Vexos are playing you! They're trying to trick you."

"Julie wouldn't just turn her back on you like that," Gorem insisted. "She has told me how much you mean to her! You are her best friend!"

"Listen to...Gorem and Skyrus... Tigrerra is telling the truth," Hydranoid told her. "Alice... wouldn't... be so cruel as to forget... how you... have helped her... in the past."

"Yeah, they're right," Preyas cried. "They all care about you!"

"You yourself admitted it, Runo," Tigrerra insisted. Runo froze, looking at her Bakugan with tears in her eyes. "Back when you were taking your test! You said that even though you were selfish sometimes, Dan was always there for you! You unlocked your power then! You and Dan are best friends-more than that! Can't you see that?"

"Tigrerra," Runo whispered.

"They abandoned you, Runo," Gus said. He and the rest of the Vexos were aware that they were loosing the battle. They had to gain control over Runo once again in order to deceive her. They had to pin her by the throat, give her no way to escape. Hydron shouldn't have allowed her to have her Bakugan back. They were just causing problems.

Tigrerra realized that Runo was back with her, so she continued. "Don't listen to them, Runo," she whispered. "They're trying to trick you into believing that your friends have abandoned you. They wouldn't do that to you, Runo, dear."

"Julie cares about you," Gorem told her.

"Alice wouldn't... abandon... you in this time of need," Hydranoid repeated.

"My Shun is best friends with Dan. Dan cares about you more than you will ever know, Runo," Skyrus said.

"Marucho is a good kid. He wouldn't just leave you," Preyas reassured her.

"Listen to your heart, Runo," Tigrerra said softly. Runo stared at them, then closed her eyes, placing her hands over her ears. _Listen to your heart_.

"Don't fill yourself with false hopes," Lync called. "You'll just end up hurt." Runo pressed her hands over her ears harder, trying to block out the voices. Her face screwed up in concentration, trying desperately to think. To listen. But her heart didn't seem to want to talk today.

"Don't let yourself be put in pain again by these lies," Mylene ordered. "You'll regret it."

"Mylene is right, Runo," Spectra growled. "Listen to her." He was about to continue when Runo lost it.

"Shut UP!" Runo screamed. "I... Dan..." She stood up, eyes still closed. Then, she opened them, glaring at the Vexos. "You're lying. Dan and my friends wouldn't just abandon me. They care about me. I know that they wouldn't just let me be left at the mercy of you jerks. You're lying!" Suddenly, an intense glow built up from her chest, making Runo gasp. She rocked back on her heels, the light concentrated around her torso. The Bakugan and the Vexos gasped in shock as Runo's eyes were wide. Tigrerra was the first to recover, and then the glow vanished. Runo shook it off quickly, glaring at the Vexos. "Dan and I are-and always will be-friends! We're there for each other! And I... I love him!" Runo shouted. "I love him!"

Then, golden light swirled around her and Runo wasn't surprised. Individual little beams orbited her body, leaving a trail of sparkles behind her. Skyrus and the Bakugan stared in shock while Tigrerra floated in front of her human. "That's a girl, Runo! I'm proud of you!" she said. Runo smiled, the little rays suddenly shooting toward her chest. She covered her heart with her hands, closing her eyes and smiling.

All of a sudden, white and pink wings shot out of Runo's back. The Vexos cried out in shock and Volt walked up behind them, looking unsurprised and maybe even a little satisfied. "There we go," he murmured. None of the Vexos heard him though. They were made of light and sparkled, branching out to the sides about 2 feet each. They had no individual feathers, instead looked more like tree leaves than anything else. Three large leaves branched out of Runo's back on each side, made of pink, white, and golden light. They sparkled with the snow that swirled around her.(**If you have trouble with that description, just think of Contesteer's Battle Gear. He's Zennet's Bakugan and you can see the Gear in episode 20**)

Runo opened her eyes with a smile, grinning genuinely at the Vexos. "I'd say that this is goodbye," Runo now smirked. She grabbed Tigrerra and Skyrus in one hand and Gorem, Hydranoid and Preyas in the other. None of them protested, in fact all of them seemed prepared. Then, she jumped backward, out of the hanger. As she fell, she twisted her body so that she was head first going down, then she focused on moving her wings, which turned out to be easier than she thought. She was gently pulled up and found herself floating, her wings waving from side to side.

She cupped her hands together in front of her, allowing the Bakugan to look up at her face. "Wow, you have wings!" Preyas cried.

"That's amazing," Tigrerra said.

"I've never heard of anything like this happening to a human," Gorem said.

"Masquerade mentioned... something... similar to this...once," Hydranoid said. They all stared at him curiously. "I think... that it would be best... if I told you when we were on the ground and hidden."

"Good idea," Tigrerra agreed.

"We are a good target in the dark now," Skyrus spoke up. "Your wings are very bright. If they are using their ships they'll be able to spot you very easily."

"You're right," Runo realized. "Alright then... um... okay, Skyrus, how do you fly?"

"My suggestion would be to angle yourself downward for this part, and as we go down you can practice pulling up," she said.

"Okay then," Runo murmured. "Do you think you guys will be able to keep up with me or should I try to keep holding on?"

"I'll fly," Skyrus said.

"As will I," Hydranoid told her.

"You'll have to hold on to the rest of us," Tigrerra said. Runo nodded.

"I think I might have a pocket... no I don't. Okay, looks like I'm holding you in my hands," Runo said. She gently closed her fist around Preyas, Tigrerra, and Gorem, then looked down at the ground. It was far, far below her. Gulping, she closed her eyes and angled toward it, allowing gravity to take hold of her. Her stomach dropped as she was pulled to the earth miles below her, feeling like she was on an intense roller coaster ride.

"Pull up, Runo," Skyrus ordered Runo. She obliged, spreading her arms out on either side of her and straightening her body so that she was parallel with the ground. Her wings caught the air, acting as a parachute, and slowed her until she was floating again. The whole thing had taken place in about ten seconds.

"That's good," Skyrus praised her. Then Hydranoid caught up.

"Maybe it would be best... if you could... hold me in your hand until you reach the ground," he said. Runo nodded, opening the hand that held Tigrerra. She closed it when Hydranoid landed there and then looked at Skyrus. It was almost hard to identify the Ventus Bakugan in the dark, snow night, and Runo felt freezing. She shivered, wishing she had a jacket.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she said. "Even if I do get down to the ground and manage to hide from the Vexos, I don't have a coat or even a sweatshirt. I'll freeze."

"You'll have to stay in the air then and look for the trailer then," Skyrus said. "It's your only option."

"Hm," Runo said. "Lets go."

"Okay," Skyrus agreed. Runo ducked down again, spreading her arms out to her sides and keeping them tightly fisted. Her wings tingled where they met her back and she wondered why exactly she had these powers and how she would able to activate it, or even if she was able to voluntarily activate it at all. She didn't think that she would be able to, but it would be worth trying in the future.

Suddenly, she heard a mechanical sound that reminded Runo of an airplane. She gasped as she pulled up, searching for the source of the sound. "Runo!" Tigrerra cried. Runo opened her hand and looked at her Bakugan worriedly. "Keep going! If you slow then they'll catch you," she cried. Runo nodded, allowing Skyrus to jump into her fist. She heard the sound again and glanced around, then dove down again, shooting through the snow.

She knew that she had to loose whoever was after her. It wouldn't be easy to do with her glowing wings, but she had to try. Biting her lip, she angled herself to the left, her wings staying straight as she glided swiftly down. Runo wondered who her pursuer was, and if the Vexos had all gotten into their individual ships to search for her. She hoped that they hadn't all decided to search for her. If they had, then there would be very little chance of escape.

Runo shook her head, her hair flying back and her hair bands coming loose. She couldn't think that way. If she did, then she wouldn't be helping anybody. She had to think positive, that she would be able to get away. But it was hard to do when she was fueled by terror.

She pulled up again, checking her distance from the ground. She could see what looked like a tree down below her, but she couldn't be sure. It was too dark and the snow obscured too much of her vision. She listened carefully, trying to determine if she had been followed. She thought she could hear the roar of an engine, but there was a horrible ringing in her ears and she couldn't tell. She assumed it was silent. Runo sighed, taking the temporary stillness to open up her hands and check on the Bakugan.

"Do you guys hear anything?" Runo asked.

"No, I don't hear a thing," Tigrerra answered.

"Nope," Preyas agreed.

"It's silent," Gorem said.

"Okay," Runo sighed in relief. "I think I've lost them for now."

"You should get on the ground and put your wings away," Tigrerra told her. "You risk less if you are masked in darkness."

"Yeah, you're right. But if I don't find somewhere to stay or at least somewhere warm then I won't even last the night," Runo protested.

"You're right, Runo," Gorem said. "I think that I can sense a heat signature nearby."

"Really?" Preyas asked. Runo looked at him hopefully.

"Yes. Down below somewhere," he reported. "But it is nearby."

"Thank you, Gorem!" Runo gasped, closing her fists once more and diving for the ground.

Runo could see the ground rushing up quickly and started to be able to make out individual objects: a boulder here and there, a tree every so often. Even a group of Aquos and Ventus Bakugan clustered together. The sound of air rushing in her ears completely and effectively blocked out any other sound that she could have detected.(.com/watch?v=bfqbY3GqlC4&feature=related )

Suddenly, a mechanical whir started up through the air, startling Runo. She gasped, pulling up as a huge gust of air tore around her, sending the snow into an even greater frenzy. She closed her eyes in agony, yelling out in pain. The snow stung her skin, making Runo feel as though she was being pricked by dozens of needles, everywhere on her body. Her face was raw and her arms were freezing. She felt like she was on fire.

Runo felt tears pricking at her eyes and she gasped as the whir came around again, catching a flash of blue. Mylene! Runo shook her head. No, she couldn't let it end this way! She opened her hands, tears in her eyes. "Gorem, how close?" Runo cried, tears threatening to spill over.

"Go down and to the right!" he cried. Runo let out a sob and closed her hands, diving again. Her tears spilled over and were lost in the air, and suddenly the ground was there, 30 feet away from her. She gasped, pulling up, and descended the last few feet slowly. Her feet touched the snow covered ground gently within seconds and she yelped in surprise. Her legs were unable to support her weight and she fell to her knees, feeling the chill stab her. Her tears were hot compared to the cold she felt and she guessed that it must be at most -10 degrees out.

"Runo!" Tigrerra cried.

"It's close," Gorem told her. Runo sobbed, struggling to get to her feet. Her wings vanished, evaporating into the air like mist. Runo's teeth chattered as she managed to gain footing, her arms reaching to conserve what little warmth was left in her limbs. The tears froze on her cheeks and she let out a wail of despair. The Bakugan rested on her shoulders.

"Just a little farther, Runo," Gorem urged. "It's just ahead!"

Runo didn't remark that she couldn't see anything. She didn't make any complaints. She was just too cold, to exhausted. Her hair blew back in the harsh wind, the hair ties long since lost in the wind. She forced herself to trudge through the drifting snow, finding little success. "Just a little father," Gorem shouted over the wind.

"Come on, you can do it, Runo!" Preyas encouraged her.

"Runo, keep going!" Tigrerra cried.

"Don't let this be for nothing," Skyrus told her.

"Keep...going...Runo," Hydranoid urged her.

And then, Runo was suddenly against something freezing, but solid. The cold, hard touch was like a canon ball of needles against Runo's nearly frostbitten skin. She yelled in pain, jumping back and sobbing. "Go to the left," Gorem ordered. Runo didn't disobey. She didn't know what kept her going. She just wanted to lie down in the snow, to curl up and go to sleep. But something kept her from doing that.

Runo felt against the rock wall with freezing fingers as harsh physical blows. It was like someone was sticking pins into every millimeter of bare skin. She couldn't feel her toes and her teeth just wouldn't stop chattering. She was tired and the tears that spilled over her eyelids were freezing on her cheeks. She wished she hadn't pressed the button.

Suddenly, her fingers fell on open air. She gasped, falling into the snow. This time, she didn't have the strength to stand up again. She started to get to her hands and knees, but the dancing snow and her weakening body just wouldn't let her. She fell, limp, into the snow, what little heat left in her body quickly fleeing into the blanket of snow that began to cover her. She hair was laced with tiny, freezing snowflakes. Her skin was pale and her lips began to grow purple. Her cheeks were red from the cold and now the flakes were caught in her eyelashes. This was it. This was the end. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"Runo!" Tigrerra shouted.

"Runo, wake up!" Skyrus yelled.

"No, it can't end like this," Preyas said softly.

"Come on, we have to get her inside here," Gorem ordered.

"Inside where?" Preyas asked.

"There. It's a hot spring," Gorem revealed.

"Gorem you're a genius," Tigrerra shouted. "Runo! Runo can you hear me?"

"What... I wanna... sleep," Runo mumbled.

"Runo, Runo, just move inside," Tigrerra begged. "Just get inside!"

"But I wanna sleep here," she mumbled.

"No, Runo," Skyrus said sharply. "Not here. It's not safe here."

"But... I'm so tired..."

"Runo!" Gorem yelled. Runo didn't respond.

"Runo, come on!" Tigrerra begged, panicking. "I just need you to get inside!"

"She's not... going... to listen," Hydranoid said, bouncing back. "But I brought... some help." Behind him trailed several Bakugan, the Bakugan Runo had spotted from the air.

"Hurry, get her inside that cave and out of the snow," Gorem ordered. All of them quickly moved to grab a piece of Runo's clothing each, tugging her into the cave mouth much faster than they thought they would. The heat from the hot spring was instantly felt, the steam already beginning to please Tigrerra.

"Runo, just hang in there a minute more," Tigrerra urged her. They all pulled her into the cave together, Runo's cheeks slowly becoming flushed and the purple disappearing from her lips and fingers. The Bakugan all stopped pulling to gasp for air, and then Runo moaned.

"Runo, wake up!" Preyas cried, jumping on her cheek. She didn't move. "RUNO WAKE UP!" One of the Bakugan dragged over a leaf full of water from the hot spring, and with the help of several Bakugan, they lifted the leaf and poured the water onto her face. Runo whimpered, opening her eyes.

"Huh...?"

"Runo, you're okay!" Tigrerra cried happily. Runo blinked, looking around. It was completely dark. She sat up, then realized that she was alive.

"I'm... alive... I'm alive!" she looked around in surprise. She smiled, grabbing Tigrerra in her hands. "We got away!"

"That's a girl, Runo," Tigrerra praised her. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Tigrerra," Runo whispered, giving her Bakugan a hug. She turned to the other Bakugan that had helped her. "Thank you, guys." Words of response echoed throughout the cave and Runo smiled. Then, she sighed.

"I'm so tired," she yawned. "I'll look around in the morning."

"Good plan, Runo," Tigrerra said. Runo yawned again, curling up on the floor. The warmth of the cave was enough to keep her alive for the night, and in the morning maybe she'd soak in the hot spring. Provided she found a towel. But she didn't worry about that then. All that mattered was that she had a few days until Christmas, and it looked as if she might actually get to spend her Christmas with Dan.

The faint light that the mouth of the cave let in was suddenly blotted out by a single figure with a small dragon-like Bakugan floating over his shoulder, just as Runo was sent, spiraling, into a blissful darkness.

"**Well that was fun," Breezyfeather says.**

"**Fun? FUN! You had me nearly KILLED and you call that FUN?" Runo yells. Breezyfeather sweat drops.**

**Shun coughs. "Run."**

"**Don't tell me what to do."**

"**BREEZYFEATHER!"**

"**Run."**

"**Don't need to tell me twice!"**

**9 PAGES! A NEW RECORD!**

**Tell me what ya thought!**

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	9. Searching, searching FOUND!

"**REN YOU WILL DIE!" Breezyfeather yells.**

"**WHAT DID I DO NOW?"**

"**I DON'T KNOW!"**

"**I DIDN'T DO IT- Wait WHAT?"**

**ON WITH THE STORY**

"**WAIT WHAT?" Ren shouts.**

"**I SAID ON WITH THE STORY!"**

"**What the heck?"**

"**I SAID-"**

"**WE GET IT!" everyone screams.**

… **On with the story.**

"**SHUT UP!"**

"Alright, time to go," Dan whispered to Julie. She nodded to him, skating out of alleyway where she had waited as he shopped. More like shoplifted, she thought. Dan hadn't had the guts to walk into the store on his own, so he sneaked in with Julie's help and left the correct amount of money on the counter. Julie had helped him get back out again, and now they had to leave before the snow got worse. The darkness and the snow were making it hard to see where they were going, however, and was proving to make their return much more difficult.

Dan was armed with his Gauntlet, Drago, and the crystal that Baron had given him. He hadn't figured out entirely how to use it yet, but he knew a few things he could do with it, like the fire wings. He decided that he'd have those out while keeping his feet lightly on Julie's road, since if he put his full weight on it, he discovered, he'd fall through.

Julie had her skates and was clad in a sweatshirt and a pair of the boy's pants. Her brown diamond hung from a chain around her neck, her hair was tucked up in her hood. The way sweatshirt hung loosely made her appear like a boy, which was the point. No one was to know that the Resistance was about, and this way, with Dan wearing a black sweatshirt and the jeans he had come to New Vestroia in, the two were less distinguishable. Plus, the resistance wouldn't know it was them at first glance.

The two silently made their way to the street in the city, Dan scanning the streets for any signs of persuit. The funny thing was that the whole time, no one had come after them. Not even any of the Vexos by tracking the signal from Dan's Gauntlet. He had half expected Shun to follow them, but if he had, he had kept himself well hidden and hadn't revealed himself yet, as Dan would have expected him to.

Both of them pushed out into the harsh winds, surprised to find that as soon as they stepped out onto the street, the wind slowed, then picked up again. Dan and Julie bared their faces with their arms, crossed in front of them. The snow stung their cheeks, forcing their eyes shut.

"Julie," Dan cried. She nodded.

"Winged Crystal Road!" The skates glowed and then the road shot out from under them, shooting into the air. Julie narrowed her eyes, nodding at Dan. He grinned, his flame wings igniting and shooting out from his back. Julie grinned at him and shot forward, up onto the path. Dan jumped onto it, running up after her. His wings propelled him forward and he kept his feet carefully on the road so he wouldn't loose Julie. The wind rushed passed, sending needles to prick their cheeks in a slow, almost agonizing torture.

"Julie, Mira said that this town was a few miles to the East of the trailer," Dan called. His hands touched Julie's shoulder and he jumped in surprise, but held on, just enough to figure out where she was going but not pull her back. If anything, he sped her up. "We'll have to keep our eyes out."

"Remind me why we're out now? In the middle of a snowstorm?" Julie shouted. "I'm really not enjoying this as much as I thought I would."

"Tomorrow we're going to rescue Runo, remember?" Dan yelled over the wind. "We have to get her something tonight or we won't have the chance."

"I say you're crazy to have gone out in this," Drago commented from Dan's pocket.

"Well you decided to tag along, so you're not allowed to complain," Dan countered. Drago let out a huff of annoyance, but remained silent.

"I think we're crazy, too," Julie muttered, but her words were lost in the wind. Suddenly, something big, black, and red rushed past them. Julie yelled, her concentration faltering and the road disappearing. Dan gasped.

"Julie!" he yelled as she started to fall. He dove down, grabbing her under the arms. She blinked in surprise, hanging there for a minute.

"Thanks Dan," she called.

"Don't mention it," he told her. She made the road appear again and stood there for a minute.

"That wasn't a bird," she decided.

"That definitely wasn't a bird," Dan agreed.

"And it wasn't a Bakugan either. We're all trapped inside our spheres," Drago contributed. "So what was that?"

"You know, now that I think about it, it kinda reminds me of the ship that Mylene and Shadow had when they came and battled Baron," Dan muttered, crossing his arms and touching down lightly on Julie's road. Suddenly, a roar filled the air, and another harsh blast of wind assaulted the two Brawlers. Dan and Julie yelled in surprise, Dan grabbing Julie and making sure she didn't fall. Dan squinted out into the snow filled darkness, catching sight of a black and purple metal machine. His eyes widened.

"That's Shadow's ship!"

"So it is the Vexos," Drago confirmed.

"But how did they know we're out here?" Julie cried.

"I don't think they do," Drago said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Dan asked. Drago popped out of his ball in front of Dan and Julie, fighting to stay in place because of the wind. Dan cupped him in his hand and both he and Julie knelt down on the road, Dan making his wings grow in size and surround the three of them in a ball of fire that kept them warm but not outright hot.

"The way we see them and then they disappear. They aren't diving for us. The Vexos aren't out on the decks looking for a battle," Drago reasoned. "They would if they were looking for us, but that isn't the case."

"Well, how do you know they aren't just trying to knock us onto the ground and then ambush us?" Julie asked, curiously.

"Yeah. With the snow and stuff, they'd be idiots to be outside. Although most of them are idiots, they aren't that stupid," Dan agreed.

"But we only saw two. If they were looking for us, they would have all shot at us. They might have even used a net to get us on the ground," Drago said. "But they didn't. And what makes you think that they even know that we'd be in the air? They don't know about your powers."

"But still..." Dan murmured. "Wait. If they aren't looking for us, then what are they doing? Are they just going for a random joy ride through the snow?"

"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense," Julie said.

"Do you think... maybe..." Dan gasped hopefully. He and Julie locked gazes.

"There's no way," she breathed.

"Runo!" Dan shouted. His flame barrier vanished and he dove down to the snow covered ground, ignoring the sting that came with his decision. His arms were out on either side of his body and the ground rushed up startlingly fast, forcing him to pull up. He gasped as his boots touched the snow, then he dropped down into it.

Getting to his feet from his crouch, he looked around with a million questions burning his mind. Where was Runo? Had the Vexos gotten to her first? Was Runo even out here or was he just making himself a target?

Julie's road shot down near him and she skidded to a halt next to him. "Don't go vanishing like that!" she cried. "I almost lost you! If it weren't for your wings I never would have spotted you!"

"I guess that means I should put them away, doesn't it?" Dan said with a growl.

"Dan, calm down," Drago warned him. "If you don't, it'll cloud your judgment. You need to focus."

"Dan, listen to Drago," a voice said. Dan and Julie gasped as the sound of air whipping through fabric tore through the air. Someone landed easily in the snow a few feet away and Dan hissed, grabbing his Gauntlet.

"Who's there?" he demanded. "If you wanna battle-"

"Dan, calm down!" Drago cried.

"It's Shun!" Julie yelled at him. Dan lowered his arm, staring at the black clad ninja. He had his cape over his mouth once more and it waved in the wind, none of the snow sticking to it. He watched Dan calmly, his arms crossed over his chest. Dan sighed, shaking with anger.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just so mad at Spectra... for taking Runo."

"He did it to get to you, Dan," Shun said. "Just calm down. By giving into your anger and hurt, you're just letting Spectra have the last laugh."

"Things will turn out alright if you just keep a level head," Ingram agreed. Dan sighed, sitting down in the snow. His wings vanished with hiss and Shun walked over to him. He knelt down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dan looked up.

"Don't worry about Runo. You're right, she is out here," Shun told him. He pointed to his hand, where his crystal rested. "It showed me that she's nearby."

"Really?" Dan asked.

"Are you sure?" Julie cried.

"Yeah. All of our crystals have that ability," Shun told her. "It's just that since I mediate a lot, I meditated on my crystal and unlocked some of the mysteries."

"Ah, cool," Dan exclaimed, standing up. Shun copied his actions, turning and looking out into the snow.

"I don't know exactly where she is, but she's near here, and I think we should split up to look for her," Shun said. "Julie, you look from the air. I'll go toward the trailer. Dan, you go west and use your wings if you have to."

"Gotcha," Dan said. "Hey, Shun, the two of us each have a Bakugan partner. I think one of us should allow our partner to look after Julie, since the two of us can without a doubt take care of ourselves."

"Are you saying that I'm a better target than the two of you?" Julie asked, shocking. She glared at Dan, who sweatdropped.

"Uh, no... I'm just saying that, well, you don't have Gorem to look out for you and stuff... and I guess..."

"Oh, save it, big guy," Julie snapped. "Shun, I'll go with you."

"Fine by me," he said. The two of them shot off into the sky, Shun jumping higher than usual. Dan sighed, turning to Drago.

"Smooth, Dan," he said.

"Oh be quiet," Dan muttered. "Come on, let's look for Runo."

"Right," Drago nodded. Dan gritted his teeth, turning in a circle and scanning for footprints. As if he even expected to find any! It was dark and he was in the middle of a snow storm. The odds of spotting footprints were very unlikely. He groaned, then ignited his wings again.

"Didn't Shun say not to use them?" Drago asked Dan.

"I need to see," Dan said simply. "And besides, if Runo see's, she'll come this way."

"And if the Vexos see?" Drago asked.

"I'll figure that out if it happens," Dan said simply, heading toward the rock formation a few feet away. Drago sighed but Dan didn't notice. He reached the rocky structure and ran his fingers over it, realizing they stung to the slightest touch. He grimaced and tucked him behind him, allowing the fire to thaw them. He stumbled through the snow, keeping close to the rocks, trying not to be beaten against them by the harsh winter wind.

He brought his hands back in front and then jumped when he stepped into an indent in the snow. He crouched down, noticing the telltale dip in the freezing white substance. Dan gasped, his eyes widening. He stood up sharply, looking around. "Runo!" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. "Runo! Can you hear me? It's Dan!"

"Dan, look!" Drago cried. Dan stared at the ground, taking in the multiple dips. Runo must have fallen or something and dragged herself through the snow, he reasoned. He gritted his teeth, pushing forward, following the trail. His fingers brushed against the wall in case he fell and he realized that in order for the imprints to remain, Runo must have been there fairly recently. Maybe he had a chance to catch up with her!

"Runo!" Dan shouted, but his voice was lost in the wind as it tore around him. He trudged through the snow, which was now up to his knees, in an attempt to keep up with Runo, but he couldn't figure out where she could have gone. She must be close, if her prints hadn't been completely covered. But she didn't respond to any of his calls. He found that a little scary. If she wasn't responding and her tracks were this recent, she might be freezing to death in the snow.

Suddenly, his fingers fell on open air and he gasped, his wings keeping him from falling. Dan regained his footing and snatched Drago out of the air as he started to fall. "Thanks Dan,"he said.

"No problem, buddy," Dan responded. He glanced to the right, where the dip in the rock was. A warm breeze played across his face, warm and humid. He didn't think about it for a moment, enjoying the sudden change in weather. Then, he realized that this was not normal. It was snowing out! How could it be warm and humid?

Dan let his wings to out, walking toward the warmth. He froze when he realized he stood in the mouth of a cave, more moisture and warmth playing over his body. Drago floated over his shoulder and the two exchanged looks, then an noticed a fairly small form lying on the floor of the cave. It was hard to make out because of the lack of light, but it was there. He narrowed his eyes and willed his wings to show themselves again, then gasped when he recognized the figure. The blue hair, then pale skin, the yellow and white outfit. And the orange leggins, of course. He still couldn't figure out why she liked the color orange so much.

"Runo!" he cried, running into the cave. His wings lit up the whole area, revealing several Bakugan on the floor around Runo, one of them floating in the air. A Haos Bakugan.

"Tigrerra?" Drago asked.

"Drago!" Tigrerra cried.

"Drago!" Preyas yelled out.

"It's Dan," Gorem exclaimed.

"Drago... it's been... a while," Hydranoid said.

"Hydranoid?" Drago asked.

Dan was kneeling on the ground next to Runo, Tigrerra floating over her. "She's okay, right?" Dan asked her.

"Yes, she's fine, Dan," Tigrerra told him. "She almost died, though."

"Well she's not wearing very much clothes," Dan exclaimed.

"We just managed to escape a little while ago," Tigrerra explained. "She wasn't really expecting to get away with it. She mustn't have, since she didn't take anything with her that would have kept her warm."

"Unnng... what?" Runo mumbled. She opened her eyes in a squint, clearly not happy about being awakened. "I just got to sleep... wait why is the bed so hard?"

"Hey Runo," Dan grinned. Her eyes shot open and she stared at Dan in shock. When his face registered in her mind(which was a good minute later) her face broke out in a wide smile.

"Dan! But how...?"

"You didn't think we were just gonna let the Vexos keep you, did you?" Dan asked with a grin. Runo sat up and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I'm so glad that you're here!" she said. "I was losing hope..."

"No worries, Runo," Dan smiled, reminding Runo of when she had been trapped between dimensions. Dan had saved her then, too. "You're safe now. And looks like we'll be spending Christmas together after all."

"Dan," she whispered, looking up at him. Her long blue hair trailed down her back, reminding Dan of that first date they had shared so long ago. He couldn't stop smiling then, and he couldn't now either. He realized that her hair ties had vanished and smirked. He didn't notice that her eyes were shining with tears until she sniffed and buried her face in his sweatshirt. "Thank you, Dan," she said.

"I missed you, Runo," he said, resting his chin on her head.

"Me too," she agreed.

"I hate to break up this reunion," a deep, annoyed voice interrupted them, "but I believe you made a deal with Hydron that you've broken, Runo Misaki." The two jumped and Dan shot to his feet, his wings illuminating the face of his enemy. Or, the masked face of his enemy, which would probably be much more accurate. Dan's face darkened and anger took hold of him once more.

All six Vexos stood in the mouth of the cave, clearly ready for a battle. Mylene had one hand on her hip and leaned on her left foot, staring, evenly, at Runo. Shadow had a sadistic grin on his face and held his arms in a battle ready position. Volt looked calm and glared at Dan. Lync was clearly enjoying himself, smirking with his arms crossed over his chest. Gus glared at Dan, obviously mad with his fists clenched at his sides. And Spectra appeared annoyed, keeping his arms carefully down at his sides. His mouth was creased in a frown and he looked at Runo, who peered over Dan's shoulder and immediately regretted it.

"Get away from here," Dan snarled, "or you'll be sorry!"

"Don't be stupid," Mylene said. "There's no way you can win here."

"Maybe not alone," another voice chimed in, "but with a little backup, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine."

"Shun!" Dan called.

"Shun!" Skyrus cried.

"Shun?" Runo asked.

"Dan!" Julie yelled, skating over the Vexos.

"Julie!" Runo cried.

"Julie," Gorem exclaimed.

"Runo! Gorem!" Julie yelped. She skidded to a halt next to her friends and threw her arms around Runo.

"Julie," Runo whispered, hugging back. Gorem floated up to his brawler, much to her happiness.

"Julie!" he cried.

"Gorem!" Julie yelled, pulling out of Runo's hug. Runo laughed lightly as Julie cupped Gorem in her hands. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Julie," he responded.

Shun jumped over almost all of the Vexos, using Shadow as another support to land next to Dan.

"Shun," Skyrus said. Shun jumped, looking around for the Ventus Bakugan. He smiled when he caught sight of her.

"Hey Skyrus," he said, allowing her to land on his hand.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she exclaimed.

"Me too, Skyrus," he murmured, his eyes stinging with tears.

"Hey, I think that we're gonna have to put the reunion on hold," Dan said. He allowed his flame wings to go out and Runo jumped, having not noticed them. She stared at the others, wondering if perhaps, the same things that had happened to her were happening to them. Judging from Julie's grin and Shun's smirk, she assumed that she was right.

"It looks that way," Drago agreed.

"Time to thrash some bad guys," Shun muttered. "You up for it Ingram?"

"I am too," Skyrus said.

"Dan, would you fight with Tigrerra and Gorem if things get tough?" Runo asked.

"Sure thing, Runo," Dan grinned.

"Are you done talking yet?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, it's getting boring," Lync agreed.

"Let's get on with it so I can get to bed," Mylene muttered, placing her Gauntlet on her arm.

"I agree," Gus growled.

"Let's do this, Dan," Spectra challenged.

"Fine by me," Dan growled.

"Gauntlet, power strike!" Dan, Shun and the Vexos called out. Julie tossed something to Runo, something bright yellow and on a chain. Runo caught it with a gasp of surprise.

"You'll figure out how to use it. Let's help out the guys a little," Julie grinned. Runo blinked, then watched, confused, as Dan, Shun, and the Vexos all dashed outside. Julie grabbed her hand and pulled her outside as their Bakugan followed quickly.

"Gate card, set!" Dan yelled, tossing his Gate Card into the snowy blizzard, watching in shock as the card blew back toward him. It touched the ground, though, and it grew quickly. Dan gritted his teeth and looked at Drago. Whatever he said to him was lost in the wind, then he grabbed the Pyrus Bakugan. "Bakugan, brawl! Drago, stand!"

The battle had begun.

"**And I'll leave it there for now," Breezyfeather says.**

"**I hate you," Ren says.**

"**What?"**

"**Why do you want to kill me?"**

"**Good question."**

**There is something wrong with the stat page... I dunno how many people are reading this.**

**-.-**

**Press the button. :)**


	10. How many fights are going on?

"**Maybe this will be the last chapter?" Breezyfeather says to no one in particular.**

"**What?" Ren says.**

"**Last chapter? I thought you had that other idea...?" Runo asks.**

"**I do... I wanna fit that in... UGH!"**

**While I think and think and ponder and whatnot about this, I'll let you get reading! But first, I have to thank all of you guys for your really supportive reviews. I really didn't think that I was a very good author until you guys made me change my mind. I guess I'm okay! :) I really wanna give a shout out to JazzGirl123. You've reviewed on I think all of my chapters and I have to say I really appreciate it! **

**HOLY MOLY THIS THING TURNED OUT TO BE 11 PAGES LONG!**

**Awww, and just when I thought I was done with my 78 problems of math homework, I have to do this math... ugh. My choice. I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! GOMENASAI! And now, without further ado, here's the chapter!**

"Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand! Go, Pyrus Cyborg Helios!" Spectra yelled. Dan and the others gasped as Helios rose out of his ball form. Their eyes were all wide as they took in the abomination that was Pyrus Cyborg Helios.

"Spectra what did you do to Helios?" Dan cried. Spectra smirked and chuckled malevolently.

"Helios, what have you done?" Drago breathed in shock. Helios laughed.

"I gained more power, foolish Dragonoid."

"You turned your body into a machine! You have undermined everything that the Bakugan stand for! This is the kind of Bakugan that the Vestal people are afraid of," Drago shouted.

"Don't make me laugh, Drago. I have enough power to take out the Ancients. And to take down you. I don't think that you should be lecturing me on something so unimportant right now."

"No more talk. Dan Kuso, I'll show you who really is deserving of the Perfect Core," Spectra smirked.

"When did this become about the Perfect Core and the Ultimate Bakugan?" Dan cried. "I have a score to settle with you for kidnapping my girlfriend. I'm not going to loose to you!"

"He called me his girlfriend," Runo whispered.

"He's mine," Dan growled. Shun nodded. The Vexos were wise enough to stay out of this fight. This one was more than just a battle for dominance. This was revenge. They knew that Dan had a score to settle with Spectra for kidnapping his girlfriend and weren't stupid. If they tried to fight in this battle, Spectra would probably take them out before Dan did.

"Julie, what did you mean by we can help them out? And what is this thing?" Runo asked, examining her crystal. "I'm freezing!"

"Oh trust me, you'll be warm soon enough," Spectra called. Runo glared at him. "Ability, activate! Chaos Shock Cannon!"

"Ability activate! Burst shield!" Dan cried out. Drago easily reflected Helios's attack, the flames shooting through the air. "Ability activate! Burning dragon!"

"Good choice, Dan," Drago said. "Let's crush them!" He shot up into the air, then curved back down toward Helios.

"Not so fast," Spectra growled. "Ability activate! Defuse quasar!" Dan hissed as Drago's power level dropped back down to his base level and Helios' power jumped up by 300. The flames from Drago's attack vanished and he pulled out of his dive just before he would have crashed into Helios.

"Ability activate!" Dan called. "Burning tornado!"

"It's useless, Dan!" Spectra called out. "Ability activate! General Quasar!" The two attacks canceled each other out, sending both Bakugan flying backward.

"Drago!" Dan cried.

"Runo, how about we give them a hand?" Julie asked. Runo stared at her, then gasped as Dan's flame wings showed up again. He jumped into the air, shooting over to Drago.

"Uh... wait, if he has flame wings, does that mean that my wings will show up if I concentrate?" Runo asked.

"Maybe that's the case," Tigrerra said.

"What do you mean?" Julie asked, but Runo had her eyes closed and her hands tightly clutching her gem. Then, her wings shot out of her back, glowing brilliantly. Julie and Gorem gasped and Runo grinned, jumping up into the air.

"Alright, Runo!" Tigrerra cried. Shun and Julie stared at her stupidly for a minute, then Shun grinned.

"How about we step in, too?" Shun asked Skyrus and Ingram.

"No!" They all gasped, turning to where the voice had come from. Dan was standing on Drago's head, looking down at them. "No. This is my fight," he shouted. "Just stay safe!"

"Dan," Shun muttered.

"This is something that Drago and I have to do. This is our fight," Dan explained.

"Please, let us fight," Drago said. Runo and the others were silent for a moment, then nodded.

"If you're done talking, maybe we can get a move on," Spectra called. "Ability, activate! Chaos shock cannon!"

"No you don't," Dan muttered. He held up his hands and suddenly, a shield made of fire sprung up in front of him and Drago. Everyone gasped while Dan grinned, tiny flames shooting past him. The attack slammed into it, making Dan grimace, then he gasped as the shield buckled.

"Dan!" Shun cried, jumping up into the air. He managed to hover right beside Dan, shooting a torrent of wind at the shield and managing to keep it from shattering. Dan's eyes flicked toward him and he sighed.

"Thanks," he said. "But I can do this myself."

"Dan!" Dan and Shun glanced back at Runo, who had her hands clasped over her heart. Because her wings were glowing behind her, her face was shadowed. "Dan, you fought to find me. I won't just sit back and risk loosing you after we've just been reunited. I'm going to fight beside you whether you want me to or not. Got it?" She tilted her head upward and smiled.

"Drago, the same goes for us," Tigrerra called. She closed her ball and flew into Runo's hand. She grinned, then jumped into the air.

"Bakugan, brawl!" she called out, tossing her Bakugan into the air. "Tigrerra stand!"

"Hm. Looks like we're on," Shun said. "You guys up for it?"

"You bet, Shun," Ingram stated.

"I'm always on your side, Shun," Skyrus told him. "Let's do this."

"That's what I wanna hear," Shun smiled. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan stand! Ingram and Skyrus, let's go!"

"Us too," Gorem said.

"You got it!" Julie cried. "Bakugan brawl! Bakugan, stand! Come on, Gorem, let's show them what happens when they mess with us!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Gorem agreed.

"We're up, too," Lync laughed. "Bakugan brawl! Mechanical Aluze, stand!"

"Bakugan brawl! Aqous Elico!" Mylene shouted.

"Bakugan brawl! Darkus Hades! Let's go!" Shadow yelled.

"Bakugan brawl! Haos Brontes!"

"Bakugan brawl! Vulcan, let's let out Master Spectra!"

"Yes Gus," Vulcan said.

"I'm ready to do some damage," Drago said. "How about you, Tigrerra?"

"You bet," Tigrerra growled.

"It feels good to fight along side you once again, my friend," Gorem mentioned.

"Yes it does," Drago agreed.

"Bakugan, brawl!" an additional voice called out.

"Huh?" Dan gasped.

"Aquos Elfin, stand!"

"Marucho!" Preyas cried.

"You Vexos are going to pay for kidnapping our friend Runo! Let Aquos Elfin, appear!" Elfin grinned as she materialized out of her Bakugan ball.

"Marucho!" Dan grinned.

"Marucho!" Preyas yelled.

"You guys didn't think you'd hog all the action, did you?" the short, blond Aquos brawler asked.

"Bakugan, brawl! Stand, Sub-Terra Wilda!"

"I'm ready, Mira!" he called out.

"Mira?" Runo gasped, whirling around. Her face broke into a wide smile as she caught sight of the Sub-Terra battler. "Mira!"

"Runo, you're okay!" Mira cried.

"Bakugan, brawl! Haos Nemus!"

"Bakugan, brawl! Darkus Percival!"

"Alice!" Hydranoid called out as the red haired girl came running up.

"Hydranoid?" she exclaimed, skidding to a halt. She wore a sweatshirt over her dress and looked a little chilled, but upon the sighting of her Bakugan partner, her reddened face showed just how ecstatic she was. "Hydranoid!"

"Alice...I missed you," he said. "It's good...to see... you again."

"You too, Hydranoid!" she smiled. Then, she looked up at Runo and Julie. "Guys! Runo, you're okay!"

"Alice!" Runo cried, landing in front of her friend. The two hugged and Julie skated over. Alice handed the two of them Gauntlets with a smile.

"You're going to need those to activate abilities," she said.

"Thank you, Alice!" Runo smiled, placing the Haos Gauntlet on her wrist while Julie did the same for the Sub-Terra Gauntlet.

"Hey, can we get this show on the road?" Shadow complained. "It's snowing and it's midnight!"

"Quit your whining, you fool," Mylene muttered. "The sooner we get this over with the sooner you can go back to annoying the heck out of Lync."

"Hey!" Lync shouted.

"Be quiet," Volt ordered. "Brontes, let's go."

"You got it, Volt," Brontes laughed.

"Ability, activate. Darkus Scythe," Volt said. Brontes laughed, the Darkus ability providing him with a gray scythe. All of the Bakugan on the Brawlers' side felt the power drain as 200 points was subtracted from them.

"Ability, activate! Thunder Stripper!" Lync called out. Aluze aimed for Ingram while Brontes jumped at Wilda.

"Ability, activate! Armored Victory," Shun countered.

"Ability activate! Sand demon!"

"Ability, activate! Screw Blow!" Mylene shouted.

"Ability activate! Velocity fang!" Runo floated up near her Bakugan as Tigrerra slashed at Elico.

"Ability activate! Gaia Luze!" Mylene called. Runo and Tigrerra hissed as her blades vanished.

"Ability activate! Talos Hammer!" Julie skated up to Gorem as he grabbed his hammer out of the air. He swung it at Hades.

"Ability activate! Photon tail!" Shadow yelled.

"Ability activate! Screw Jolt!" Gus called.

"Ability activate! Burning Dragon!"

"Ability activate! General Quasar!"

The two attacks slammed into each other, exploding in a huge ball of fire. Dan and Spectra covered their faces instinctively, protecting against the roaring flames.

"What's the matter, Spectra?" Dan shouted, recovering faster. "Can't take the heat? Double ability, activate! Burning tornado plus Fusion Ability Pyrus Slayer!"

"I'll show you heat," Spectra growled. "Ability, activate! Explosion Lambada!"

"What?" Dan cried.

"You're a fool to think that you can beat me, Dan Kuso!" Spectra shouted.

"Just give in, Drago," Helios hissed.

"In your dreams, Helios," Drago responded. Dan bit his lip, looking around at his comrades, who seemed to be taking a beating.

"Dan," Runo shouted as Elico shot an attack at them.

"Gate card open!" Dan shouted. "Forcement enemy!"

"What?" Spectra cried.

"Bingo pal," Dan smirked. "Forcement enemy is a command card that adds 100 points to each of my Bakugan for the amount of enemies on the battle field. So that's 600 points to all of my Bakugan!"

"Spectra!" Helios growled.

"I hear you," Spectra called. "Ability activate! FARBAS!"

"What the-" Dan cried.

"Repairing damage sustained from Burning Tornado, Pyrus Slayer, and Forcement Enemy. Increasing power level to 1500."

"What the heck?" Dan shouted.

"What is that thing?" Runo yelled.

"No..." Mira whispered.

"Mira," Wilda said softly.

"FARBAS stands for Fully Automated Reaction BAttle System," Spectra explained with a smirk. "It will repair any damage sustained in battle and increase Helios's power level to overtake the opponents. Mira knows how powerful it is, don't you dear sister?" Dan glanced back at Mira, who had her eyes closed her her hand fisted over her heart.

"How can he handle that much power on his own?" Drago questioned.

"Don't know, Drago," Dan said.

"Ability, activate! Velocity Fang!" Runo cried. She shot after Tigrerra as she slashed mercilessly at Vulcan, Julie having taken Elico on.

"Ability activate! Heavy Aegis!"

"Dang it!" Runo growled. "Ability activate! Saber Glowcer!"

"Not so fast! Ability activate! Maniactus Magical!" Runo gasped as Brontes cut in front of Tigrerra and a cyclone of light swirled around her. Runo glanced at her Gauntlet and gasped.

"He nullified my ability!" she cried.

"Runo!" Tigrerra cried. Runo's eyes widened.

"No way!"

"He nullified the Gate Card!" Ace yelled. They all glanced toward him. "He pulled that move out on me and Shun at the tournament at Alpha City! It nullifies the ability and the Gate Card!"

"What!" Dan gasped. He stared at his Gauntlet as Drago's power level dropped by 600. He hissed as Drago dropped to his knees.

"Dan!" Runo cried. "Tigrerra, come on, we have to help them!"

"Yes, M'Lady," Tigrerra responded, dashing over to Drago.

"Ability activate! Metal Fang!" Runo cried. She flew over to Dan while Tigrerra attacked Helios, catching him off guard.

"This is payback for taking me prisoner!" Tigrerra shouted.

"Don't make me laugh, Tigrerra," Helios growled.

"Ability activate! Sand beast!" Mira cried, deflecting Volt's attack.

"Heh. Big deal. Ability, activate! Jeel Frontier."

"Oh no!" Mira gasped as any further abilities were prevented and 200 points were subtracted from Wilda. "This isn't good, Wilda!"

"Ability, activate! Photon tail!" Shadow yelled, shooting a purple blast at Hydranoid.

"Get over yourself!" Alice retorted. "Ability activate! Death trident!" Coils shot out of Hydranoid and wrapped themselves around Hades, pulling him toward Hydranoid.

"You... will pay... for impersonating me!" Hydranoid growled.

"I doubt it," Shadow Prove shouted angrily. "Ability activate! Photon tail!" Alice glared at Shadow.

"Ability activate! Destroy vanish!"

"Not so fast, little girl!" Shadow howled, laughing. "Ability activate! Stinger Cannon!"

"He's an idiot to pull out that move," Barron muttered. "He has to recharge forever!"

"Really?" Alice asked. Suddenly, the blast shot out of the cannons in Hades' chest, sending Hydranoid flying backward. "Hydranoid!"

"I'm... okay... Alice..." Hydranoid rasped, getting to his feet once more.

"Don't worry," Barron called to Alice. "He has to recharge! You won't have to worry for a little while."

"Nuh-uh," Shadow laughed. "Professor Clay made some adjustments to Hades! Now he can withstand the energy drain! Fire!"

"Oh no!" Alice gasped. Suddenly, the crystal in her hand began to glow. She gasped, staring at it, then sighed. "Alright, Masquerade, I'll let you handle it from here." She was engulfed in rainbow light(**Similar to when the Gundalians and Neathians transform back to themselves)** and her hair rose up above her head. The light died down, revealing the forked mask with the crack in it from his battle with Dan. Masquerade smirked, looking up at Hydranoid.

"Well, looks like I'm back, Hydranoid," Masquerade said. "Are you ready to kick some butt?"

"I'm ready... Masquerade... It's good to fight along side you once more," Hydranoid said. Masquerade grinned, one side of his mouth curving up higher than the other. Barron stared at him with an open mouth, then shook it off.

"Mind if Nemus and I join in?" he asked.

"Be my guest. As they say, the more the merrier," Masquerade told him. "Let's go!"

"Alright!" Barron cried. "Come on, Nemus!"

"You got it, Barron!"

"Ability, activate! Darkus Driver!" Ace shouted.

"Good choice, Ace," Percival called, shooting toward Aluze.

"Marucho, you get behind Aluze. Shun! Can you attack from above?" Ace asked.

"No problem, Ace," Shun muttered.

"Sure thing!" Marucho called.

"Bakugan trap, Ventus Hylash!" Shun called out, tossing the odd-shapped Bakugan into the air.

"Attribute change!" Elfin shouted, spinning. "Darkus!"

"Ability activate!" both boys shouted.

"Double Fangs, Jade Wind Shot!" Shun shouted.

"Moon Rainbow!" Marucho called.

"The other one had an issue with the sensors," Shun said.

"Maybe this one has the same problem?" Marucho asked.

"I wouldn't count on it, kiddies," Lync smirked. "Fushion Ability! Aero Aegis!"

"He nullified the ability!" Ace cried.

"That's right!" Lync said in a sing-songy voice. Shun's lip curled and he hissed.

"Skyrus! Ingram, combine with Hylash!"

"We hear you, Shun!" Skyrus called.

"Double ability activate! Destruction Meteor Storm plus Wind Power, Soaring Strike Shot!"

"Uh-oh," Lync gasped. "Aluze!" Both attacks slammed into the mechanical Bakugan, giving Ace and Marucho time to attack again.

"Ready, Elfin?" Percival asked.

"You bet, Percival!" Elfin responded. "Attribute Change! Don't you know it's wrong to stare when a girl changes clothes, especially to VENTUS!"

"Let's go, Marucho!" Preyas cried.

"Right! Bakugan brawl! Preyas stand!"

"I'm ready to do some damage! Man does it feel good to be back!"

"Preyas, let's do this!" Marucho shouted with a smile.

"You bet! Attribute, change! Sub-Terra!"

"Double ability activate! Slumping Rocket plus Wing Mercury!"

"Ability activate!" Ace cried. "Night Explorer!"

"Aluze!" Lync shouted.

"Lync!" Volt cried. "Ability activate! Maniactus Magical!" Shun and the others growled as their abilities were taken out. "Be more careful," Volt muttered.

"Hmph. I could have dealt with them without your help," Lync shouted.

"Yeah, right," Mylene grumbled.

"Give up," Dan shouted to Spectra. "You guys are completely outnumbered! There is no way that you can possibly win." Spectra was silent, looking mad. Just then, Hades swirled back into his ball, landing at Shadow's feet. His Life Gauge dropped to zero, much to everyone's shock. Masquerade continued to hover in the air, catching Hydranoid and looking smug. Barron stood on the ground, grinning, holding Nemus in his hand.

"One down, five to go," Runo grinned. Mylene gasped as Gorem's hammer slammed into Elico, knocking him back and forcing him to return to her. He landed at her feet in the snow, causing her Life Gauge to drop to zero as well.

"Haha!"Julie cried. She shot down toward the ground to catch Gorem as he returned to her. "Alright! Nice job, Gorem!"

"You too, Julie," he responded.

"Ability, activate! Lightning Talon!" Shun shouted. Skyress (**I recently found out the correct spelling. -.-**) executed the attack mercilessly, sending Aluze back to Lync and dropping his Life Gauge to zero. Shun caught both Skyrus and Ingram in one hand, grinning. Marucho smiled as Eflin and Preyas shot back to him. Ace caught Percival easily and smirked as Lync yelled in anger.

Mira gritted her teeth in her match against Volt. Gus had joined in, too, forcing Mira against a wall. They were evenly matched, but Mira knew that she was running out of options. "Double ability, activate! Power winder plus Gun Lock!"

"Big deal! Ability activate! Luny Magical!"

"Oh no!" Mira gasped.

"Ability activate! Screw impact!" Vulcan sent his fists shooting toward Wilda, knocking him back.

"Wilda!" Mira cried.

"I'm sorry, Mira," Wilda said, landing at her feet. Mira sighed, sinking to her knees.

"I lost," she whispered.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Ace said, kneeling next to her. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He was smiling. "You tried your best. They double teamed you. It's okay."

"Thanks...Ace..." she murmured, looking down at her knees and feeling her cheeks heat up. He offered his hand and she took it, standing and turning toward Dan, Runo, and Spectra. They were the only ones left on the battle field.

Runo and Dan floated in the air next to each other, their expressions hard to read. The two glanced at each other at the same time, then turned their gazes back to Spectra. He was glaring at them, Helios and Drago facing each other. Drago was quite obviously angry and Helios seemed bloodthirsty. Tigrerra stood to Drago's right, in a battle ready position. Both parties were waiting for the other to strike first.

"How about we make this battle a little bit more... interesting...? What do you say, Dan?" he asked, smirking.

"Depends on the stakes, Spectra," Dan responded. Runo looked at him, thinking that she had the relative idea of what Spectra was going to suggest. She shifted her gaze to Spectra, biting her lip and making her hands into fists to hide the fact that they were shaking. Tigrerra glanced at her sympathetically. Spectra was looking at Runo, his mouth now creased in a frown. Then, it widened into a smirk again.

"Hm. I see Runo has an idea of my intentions, does she not?" he said slyly. Runo flinched with a gasp, trying to take a step back but finding herself in the air. Dan turned to look at her, his eyebrows creased in concern. Runo got a handle on her fear and her face hardened, staring at Dan with new courage. He turned back to Spectra in anger. Spectra frowned, seeing that his proposal was going to be rejected.

"You're crazy if you think that I'm going to have Runo's freedom rest on the outcome of this battle!" he shouted. Spectra smiled. Dan blinked in confusion. Why was he smiling like that?

"Why is he grinning?" Marucho asked.

"I don't get it," Barron said.

"Shush. Watch," Shun said, crossing his arms. Suddenly, Spectra whipped out a card, and before any of them could react, he had placed it in his Gauntlet.

"Ability, activate! General Quasar!" Helios aimed at Drago, the fireball growing in his mouth.

"Ability activate! Fire shield!" The shield grew around Drago, also cutting Dan off from the line of fire. And vision. Shadow's sadistic smile grew on his lips again and Mylene smirked.

"Fire!" Spectra shouted. Helios changed direction, firing his attack at none other than Runo.

"Oh no!" Mira gasped.

"Runo!" Julie screamed. Runo gasped, her eyes wide as the giant fireball shot toward her.

"Runo!" Tigrerra shouted.

"No!" Dan shouted. Runo closed her eyes in fear, crossing her forearms over her face. Her life flashed before her. The first time she met Dan, her shouting at him on the ball field. The first day of school, when she was picked on for her hair color. The fourth grade when she broke her leg, the fifth grade when she won a medal for being the best pitcher on her softball team. The summer of sixth grade, when the cards first rained down. Meeting Dan in person in the middle of the street and answering Masquerade's invitation that was originally meant for Dan. When Dan was sent to the Doom Dimension. Reuniting with him. Her test. Dan beating Masquerade. Fighting Druman and Centourior. Beating Naga with Dan and the brawlers. Saying goodbye to Tigrerra.

The fire heated her cheeks, and then a tingly feeling came over her. She knew it was the fire licking her skin, burning her. She must be dying. If she wasn't dying, wouldn't this hurt? Wouldn't it burn and sting and feel like she was being tortured? Suddenly, a huge BANG shook the air. Runo gasped, opening her eyes. She blinked, lowering her arms. Her eyes widened and she stared in shock at the scene before her.

Golden light was swirling around her and the other brawlers, as well as Tigrerra, Drago, and Dan. It was solid, forming a shield. Runo looked around in shock, finding the fireball pressed against one part of the dome-shield. She blinked at it, then turned to look back at the brawlers. Julie and Mira were smiling and Julie was skating toward her. Mira was struggling to make her way through the snow toward Runo and wasn't doing a very good job. Dan was staring at her, then shot toward her. It was he that reached her first.

"Runo! You're okay!" he cried, flinging his arms around her. She laughed, then found Julie's arms around her as well.

"What is it with you and being the target of those creeps?" Julie laughed. Then Shun was there, grinning with Marucho in tow. Masquerade had walked over and removed his mask, revealing Alice's happy face.

"I'm so glad that you're safe, Runo!" she said, hugging Runo as well. Shun smiled and Marucho quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. Mira, Ace and Barron were smiling broadly, Barron's eyes sparkling. Mira's were wet, and Runo could only make it out because of the brightness of the shield. It illuminated everything around them. Tigrerra cupped Runo in her hand and sighed happily.

"I'm going to have to keep you with me all the time, Runo," she laughed. Runo grinned, then looked toward Spectra angrily. She felt the others peel away from her and Dan clenched his fists. He flew forward and the shield around them vanished to Runo's thought. His lip curled and he glared down at Spectra, who didn't seem very bothered.

"Spectra! You're a creep! First you kidnap her and then you try to kill her? What's wrong with you!"

"She just happens to be the gate to your pathetic little heart," Spectra spat. Dan's lip curled again and he barely noticed when Helios swirled back to Spectra, landing at his feet. Drago flew back to Dan, landing in his hand. Dan tossed him to Runo as Tigrerra swirled back into ball form. He lifted his arms and one leg, shooting toward the ground. He landed in the snow silently, very, very mad. His wings vanished and he stood in a battle ready position. Spectra looked at him, then pulled out a card.

"Fine. You want to fight? Here. Let's see what you're made of." He placed the card in his Gauntlet, then lifted his arm above his head. A blade shot out of the tip of it, reaching a good three feet above his head. He glared at Dan, who pulled out the same card and placed it in his Gauntlet. He held it out to the side, the blade shooting out. The two stood there for a minute and Runo floated closer, clearly worried.

"Dan, what are you doing?" Marucho cried.

"Spectra are you crazy?" Mylene asked.

The two began to circle one another like lions preparing to battle.

"Be careful Dan!" Mira called.

"Master Spectra, don't let your guard down," Gus said.

The two stopped circling, glaring at each other.

"Dan, be careful," Runo whispered.

"Don't do anything stupid," Shadow said, actually sane for once.

"Thanks guys," Dan called.

"I won't loose!" Spectra shouted, jumping toward Dan. Dan jumped back, raising his blade in a defensive position. He pushed to the left and up as soon as Spectra's blade collided with his, forcing the masked brawler to falter. Dan ducked down, barreling into him with his shoulder. Spectra stumbled back and Dan jumped backward as well, giving Spectra the time he needed to get back on his feet. He hissed, jumping forward again. Dan gasped, dodging to the left, but Spectra slashed his blade, making Dan shy a little bit too far. He lost his balance, falling into the snow. He gasped as Spectra's blade came down toward his chest and rolled to the side, hissing as the blade sliced a thin cut along his arm. He rolled back onto his back as Spectra pulled his blade up and hooked his ankle around Spectra's calf.

Spectra went down in the snow, falling onto his back. Dan quickly got to his feet and sprang away from the battle, whirling around at a safe distance. He dug his feet into the snow, his eyes not leaving Spectra's blade as he got to his feet again. It was so dark that the blades and Runo's wings were the only things that illuminated the night. The snow swirled around, making it further difficult to see. Dan squinted around the driving needles, noticing Spectra's dark figure diving toward him.

Dan ducked as Spectra slashed at his head and then jumped to the side as his blade came down over his shoulder. Spectra growled and slashed at him again, forcing Dan to block the attack by holding his arm in place. "Give up, Dan," Spectra hissed. "There is no way you can win this."

"That's what you think. I'm not as weak as you think I am," Dan muttered back. He kicked Spectra's stomach, causing the older boy to take a few steps back. He didn't fall over clutching his stomach as Dan hoped, but he dove toward the Pyrus brawler while he could. He ducked behind him, bringing his blade down over Spectra's shoulder.

Spectra whirled around and blocked Dan's blade with his own, forcing it down to the side. Dan gasped as his own technique was used against him. He breathed inward sharply as Spectra's blade came up, narrowly missing Dan's armpit. The momentum of the swing caused the blade to overshoot, passing harmlessly in front of Dan. He used that time to bring his own blade up, attempting to slash Spectra in the same place, but the older boy moved at the last second. Dan hissed, stepping back.

Both boys were breathing hard, still angry but clearly running low on steam. Runo had her hands clasped over her heart nervously, hoping that Dan wouldn't get killed. Gus looked annoyed while the rest of the Vexos watched with interest. The Resistance, however, all looked nervous for their friend. They were all back on the ground with the exception of Shun and Julie, who were both near Runo.

"Spectra, why do you insist on fighting us?" Dan asked. "If your goal really is to free the Bakugan, then we should work together!"

"I offered that the last time, human," Spectra hissed. "You declined my offer."

"You wanted me to join the Vexos! And you kidnapped Runo to try to convince me! Of course I'd decline! But if you'd try to work things out peacefully, I might listen!" Dan cried.

"I'd rather tear you apart instead!" Dan decided it was time to change tactics.

"Spectra, you still care about Mira! She's your sister! You two shouldn't be on opposite sides!"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me!" Spectra panted, then calmed down a little. "Only one of us can be the best, and that one will be me! So make things easy on yourself and give up now!" Spectra shouted, diving toward Dan again with his blade out in front of him. He was clearly very mad. Dan quickly ducked to the side, sending Spectra into the snow once more.

"Dream on, pal! Drago and I are the best and don't you forget it," Dan told him. Spectra hissed, on his hands and knees. He looked toward Dan and then gasped, his head forced to the side as his mask was sliced away from his face. Dan stood there, his blade pointed at Spectra as he looked back up at Dan.

"Well. I guess Mira was the lucky one in the family now wasn't she?" Dan smirked.

"Shut UP!" Spectra shouted, casting aside his Gauntlet and jumping at Dan. Dan gasped as the older boy grabbed him around the stomach, forcing him to the ground. Dan's blade was caught in the snow and ripped from his arm, but he didn't care. It would give him an advantage.

The two rolled over in the snow, Spectra landing on top. He went to punch Dan in the face, but was stopped when someone pulled him on the shoulders.

"Stop it! Stop it, both of you!" Both boys froze and looked up at Runo, who looked very mad indeed. She glared at both of them, stepping back from Spectra. Mylene dashed up, too, glaring at Spectra.

"What's your problem? Get it together already," she snarled. Mylene glanced at Runo. "I'll call a truce for now between the two of us. How about it?"

"Fine," Runo muttered. She looked at Spectra and Dan. "Come on already. The sword fight was just plain out of line, and now this. Knock it off!"

"Shut up," Spectra growled at Runo.

"Hey, watch it," Mylene snapped. "Come on. We're going." She turned away, walking back to the rest of the Vexos. Spectra looked back at Dan and discovered that he was holding the younger by the collar of his shirt. Dan glared up at him and groaned when Spectra thrust his head back down into the snow. He stood up and walked away, picking up his Gauntlet at the same time. Runo watched as he departed and Dan got to his feet, still a little aggravated. Spectra turned around a few yards away, his mask in hand, and Dan moved in front of Runo.

"Relax," he snarled. "I'm not going to take your precious girlfriend today. We're done for now. But next time we meet, I promise you, you're not going to walk away."

"Whatever," Dan said. Spectra grunted and Gus returned to his side, then the Vexos retreated.

Dan turned back to Runo, a wide grin on his face. Runo blinked at him, still amazed that he could change moods so quickly. Runo smiled and jumped toward him, forcing him back down in the snow in a hug. He laughed, hugging her back. Runo laughed, too, and then the rest of the Brawlers were there.

"Runo!"

"Dan are you okay?"

"That was dumb."

"Runo, I missed you sooo much!"

"Did they hurt you, Runo?"

"Dan when are you going to learn not to accept challenges from deranged psychos?"

"I'm sorry," Mira murmured. They all stopped laughing and smiling and looked at Mira. She was looking at her feet and none of them could see her face. "I'm sorry... about my brother. He... didn't used to be like this."

"Hey, no worries, Mira," Dan grinned. "You don't have to apologize for him. We know it's not your fault."

"Yeah. You don't have anything to do with him, Mira," Ace smiled. "He won't change our view of you. So don't worry."

"Thank you, Ace..." Mira murmured. "But I still feel responsible for everything that he's done."

"Mira, we don't blame you so you shouldn't blame yourself either, got it?" Runo said. Mira looked up at Runo and sighed, then nodded and smiled.

"Alright then. Runo, you must be exhausted!" Dan exclaimed. Runo blinked, then remembered how tired she was. It hit her like a punch in the gut and the snow suddenly had a hypnotizing effect, lulling her to sleep. She sighed, falling back. Dan gasped, managing to catch her in time. "Runo? Hey Runo! Wake up! Runo!"

"Dan, calm down," Drago said.

"Yeah, don't worry about her," Tigrerra laughed. "She's just tired. She almost froze to death. She needs to rest."

"Hm. I guess your right, but we should get her inside, fast," Dan said.

"Yes," Tigrerra said. Dan allowed his wings to blaze to life and he looked back at the others.

"Shun, you've got your grappeling hook, right?"

"When don't I?" he asked with a small smirk. Dan grinned.

"Then with the rope you should be able to lead them back to the base, right?"

"With Julie's help, I should be able to."

"Okay then. I'll see you back there."

"Wait Dan," Ace said. Dan looked at him.

"Take me with you. I'll be able to get the door open since I locked it."

"Okay. Ace... uh... Alice, can you transport all of us back at once?" Dan asked, remembering that she had Masquerade's card. She nodded, pulling it out. Closing her eyes, the card began to glow. All of the others drew in close to her, allowing the light to envelope them. The next second, they were standing inside the trailer, at the airlock. Alice smiled, lowering her hand.

"There we go," she said. "She can share the room with me, since Mira was sharing with Julie."

"Okay," Dan said. "Let's let her get some rest. She can tell us more about her escape and stuff tomorrow."

"If she's up for it," Tigrerra said.

"Yeah. Mira, Alice, can you guys help me?" Dan asked.

"Sure thing, Dan," Mira said.

"Come on," Alice smiled, leading the way into the back of the trailer.

"**Ugh, that took me, what, a week or so to write?" Breezyfeather says.**

"**Yep. A little more, I think," Runo says.**

"**Darn it! Guys, I am SOOOO SORRY!" Breezyfeather shouts.**

**I really am. But I have midterms this week and even though we had a bunch of snow days I was working on something else. So I really do apologize, and the next chapter will probably be the last one. Then I have to finish other stories and then MAYBE I'll write a sequel to this. Maybe.**

**Review?**

**Please?**


	11. Runo's Merry Christmas

"**Alright then! Last chapter!" Breezyfeather sings.**

"**I still don't see how that's a good thing," Klaus says.**

"**Yeah well, try."**

"**I don't see how a few mere words are going to-"**

"**You don't know the power of words, do you, sir?" Jesse asked.**

"**Oh no..." Breezyfeather groans. Klaus stares at him.**

"**Okay, what with the guy that looks like he could be my twin if I just dyed my hair and-"**

"**He's your interracial/interrsolarsystemial/interwhateveral brother!" Breezyfeather cries.**

"**What did she say?" Klaus and Jesse try to work out what she said and then yell at the same time.**

"**...WHAT?"**

"**On with the story!"**

**hm... they either end up with someone yelling in shock, or an awkward silence... meh.**

**NOW on with the story!**

Runo smiled, enjoying the warm breeze that played across her face. The air smelled of the ocean, salty and fresh. She was used to smelling it around Wardington, but that smelled like fish. And gasoline. This was much more pristine.

She still couldn't believe that Dan had managed to get them a pair of rooms at a hotel in Hawaii. She had stared at him in shock when he told her. "Runo, we're going to Hawaii. I booked us a suite at a hotel on Maui." She hadn't believed him and threatened to hit him in the head unless he stopped lying. "It's true!" he insisted.

"Riiiight," Runo rolled her eyes.

"I booked us the suite when we came back from New Vestroia the first time!" Dan told her. "Drago was there! Right?"

"Yeah. He did. He went on that website and borr-" Dan grabbed him and thrust him into his pocket, much to the Bakugan's distaste. "Human! What the heck? Let me out of here!"

"Dan you really booked us a suite in Hawaii? Don't we need passports?" Runo cried.

"I talked to your dad and he told me that you already had one. My mom got me one when I asked," Dan grinned. "And if that's still a problem, we can just fly there." Runo did hit him that time.

"Idiot..." she grumbled, storming off. But inside, she was really squeeling in happiness. He had booked them a room in Hawaii! A Hawaiian vacation! Then she realized something. "He better not have," Runo growled, then used one of her new found powers to disappear into the air, her form dissolving in a way similar to Masquerade's when he used his transporter card. She had reappeared in front of Marucho, who was in his room about to leave. He had jumped in surprise and yelled, but Runo had covered his mouth.

"Shhhh," she hissed. He blinked at her, eyes wide. She removed her hand.

"Geez Runo! Don't scare me like that!" he cried.

"What was that about?" Preyas asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering that, too," Elfin chimed in. Runo shot the two Bakugan a look and Tigrerra jumped down toward them.

"Hey, Marucho, Dan didn't happen to have asked you... if he could borrow your plane recently, did he?" Runo asked. "Or borrowed money from you?"

"Uh... why do you ask, Runo?" he asked, adjusting his glasses. "I keep those matters classified."

"Since when?"

"Uh..."

"He asked you not to tell me, didn't he?" Marucho was silent for a minute, then sighed.

"Yes."

"Well I guess he wouldn't have enough money to pay for airfare plus all that other stuff," she muttered. "Now I see why he shut Drago up." She vanished again after grabbing Tigrerra.

"I still can't believe it," she now said. "And I'm here..." She was currently sitting on the balcony of their suite, looking out at the sunset on Christmas day. It was weird experiencing such warm weather on a day that was usually bitter cold in Japan. The only other time she had been warm on Christmas was when her parents had taken her to California to visit some relatives. Runo hadn't been able to understand the language(**Remember she's Japanese**) so just stayed in her room all day, except when they brought her to the beach and she almost drowned because she couldn't read the sign that said not to swim in that area.

Dan and the others had prolonged destroying the Dimension Controller in the palace, knowing that all of the Vestals would be on holiday until January 5th. Mira had explained that working until that day was forbidden, and even the prince couldn't break that rule. So they were in the clear. It gave Dan and Runo the time to enjoy their vacation and return to New Vestroia well rested and refreshed, ready to strike the final blow against the Vexos. The only thing they had to worry about now was Spectra or the Vexos showing up on their own time, since Mira warned them that their custom probably wouldn't interfere with Spectra's desire to posses the Perfect Core. Runo knew that between she and Dan, Spectra wouldn't be able to take the Perfect Core.

"Hey Runo, where'd you go?" Dan called. Runo smirked, concentrating and grinning as she vanished. A tingling sensation came over her and she rose from the chair, sneaking over to the door of the balcony. He poked his head through, his brown hair falling in front of his eyes. Dan pushed them away from his face, looking around. "Hm. I thought she was out here. Drago, wasn't she just here?" Dan asked.

"I saw her there a few minutes ago when you asked me to look for her," Drago responded from Dan's shoulder. Runo rolled her eyes. She silently stepped behind Dan.

"You were spying on me?" she asked, becoming visible once more. Dan yelped, falling over. Runo and Tigrerra laughed.

"She got you," Drago said.

"Shut up, Drago," Dan muttered, his face red.

"I must admit, Dan," Tigrerra said, "I am quite surprised. You are completely fearless when facing Spectra in a sword fight and yet you jump and scream when your girlfriend sneaks behind you and speaks."

"Ha! So you were out here!" Dan cried, turning to Runo. She grinned and shrugged, the silky fabric of a short sleeved white and pink dress she had bought with her Christmas money lightly caressing her arms. Dan stared at her in shock, having not seen her outfit yet. Runo blushed.

The dress was long, reaching her ankles, and was rather loose with many folds in the fabric. It had a pink belt around the waist. It was similar to the dress she had worn on her first date with Dan, but actually had the same style arm-cuffs that she always wore on her outfits. A white cape sort of piece of fabric fell from that, making her look like she wore a shawl. Her blue hair cascaded down the back of it and she looked beautiful.

Runo had already fallen in love with the dress. Tigrerra had pointed it out to her on the first day there, when the couple had split up to go shopping for a little while. Runo had decided immediately after trying it on that it was the prefect dress for her and bought it with a lot of her money. Thankfully, she had brought along $500 and the dress had only cost $200. That had left her with a good amount of money for both souvenirs and a present for Dan. And if she ran out, well, she still had her waitressing skills.

Dan blushed and Tigrerra and Drago left, deciding that the two needed a little alone time. Dan spoke a few seconds later to break the silence. "Wow Runo. You look great."

"You too, Dan," Runo said, noticing that he wore a red polo shirt and shorts that reached his shins.

"Oh you know I don't look good, Runo," Dan rolled his eyes. Runo noticed that he had his hand behind his back, possibly concealing something from her. She rose an eyebrow at him and his cheeks got red again. He grinned and let out a strangled laugh, his eyes shut.

"Oh get to the point already," she smiled. "I wanna watch the sunset!"

"That would be nice... and we have the perfect view from here," Dan said, looking out over the beach. He smiled at her and brought his arm out from behind his back, revealing the gift that was wrapped in shiny golden foil. Runo stared at it and at him and blushed furiously.

"Dan, you didn't have to get me anything! You brought me out here! This was a wonderful gift... you didn't have to get me anything else," Runo stammered, feeling both embarrassed and happy that her boyfriend was such a caring person at the same time. She took the gift when he placed it in her hands and stared at him.

"Nah, Runo. I wanted to get you this," Dan smiled. "Come on, open it! I already opened the gift that you gave me. Now it's your turn." It was true. Dan had opened the present Runo gave him. It was a silver bracelet that easily hooked around his tanned wrist. It was rather plain, but it had the words "Dan Kuso: #1 Battle Brawler" etched on it. Instead of the "o" in "Kuso" Runo put a heart. It was cliché she knew, but she couldn't resist.

Runo sighed and sat down the chair on the balcony, Dan sitting down next to her, which got her suspicious. What could he have possibly gotten her now? A new hairbrush? No, the box was too small. A Gauntlet polish? Okay Runo knew that was ridiculous. But she just couldn't think of anything else that this boy-who could be hopelessly clueless- might think to get her.

Her fingers caught around the beautiful red bow that adorned the top of the box. It was tied almost perfectly, but the right side was just a little lopsided. She knew that Dan must have spent hours trying to tie that, but had obviously gotten it right eventually. She smiled, half wanting to leave the bow there and not put the hard work he had done to waste. But when she hesitated, Dan groaned, his grin still wide. "Come on, Runo, you're killing me here! Hurry, come on!" he begged.

"Okay okay, you don't have to whine," she retorted. She lightly tugged on the edges of the bow after taking one last look at it, realizing that the red could represent Dan's Pyrus and the gold maybe was her Haos. Her mouth twitched upward at the coincidence, but she somehow didn't think it was unintentional. Dan might be clueless when it came to other girls and their flirting, but she knew that this he put a lot of thought into.

The foil that wrapped around the box also was wrapped just so. It was folded perfectly, not even a single piece of tape had a tear in it. She smiled at his handiwork, knowing that this was only something that she would take the time to notice. Her fingers slipped under the folds and gently pulled them from each other wincing when she tore the paper.

"It's okay, Runo," Dan said. "Come on... I wanna see your face!"

_I wonder what he got me that has him so worked up_, Runo thought. She was burning with questions that she knew would be answered if she hurried, but she kind of liked the suspense gnawing at her insides. It was like a good mystery book: a Sherlock Holmes book.

The wrappings fell away and Runo stared at the box. It most certainly wasn't from Earth. The material she thought she would recognize as cardboard wasn't cardboard, and even looked like it was made of a light but sturdy silver. But it couldn't be. It wasn't heavy enough. And yet, when she ran her hands over it, it felt like metal. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

She hooked her fingernails on the top of the box, feeling a slight bit of irritation set in when her fingernails slipped. But she hooked them around again and lifted the top of the box, gasping in wonder at what lay inside.

In the middle of white circle sat two little jewels attached to two small loops of fabric, each about an inch thick. The jewels appeared to be something similar to topaz, or maybe yellow sapphire. The fabric it was attached to was white and yellow, with a little bit of pink thrown in for good measure. Runo felt her cheeks grow warm as she lifted them out of the box, in complete and utter shock.

"The shop dealer told me that certain items in the store came corresponding to the Bakugan attributes," Dan said, grinning. Runo shifted her gaze to him, noticing that his cheeks were red. "So I looked around and found something that I figured you'd like. I asked Julie and she seemed surprised that I picked it out myself."

"He's lying you know," Drago called from inside. "He really-"

"Drago!" Tigrerra warned, knocking him to the ground. Dan sweat dropped while Runo cocked her head at him.

"What does he mean?"

"Uh... yeah... about that..."

"You didn't pick it out yourself, did you?"

"What? No, I did. I just happened to have gone and found it that night that we found you... and the shop was closed so we sorta broke in..."

"YOU WHAT?" Runo shouted.

"Hey, listen! I looked at the price and I left the right amount of money on the counter with a note! It was too risky going out in the day time because Spectra would have found us," Dan said hurriedly. "And I didn't wanna risk that... especially because I was getting a gift for you. And besides. Mira wouldn't let us leave the trailer anyway."

"You idiot..." Runo muttered. She looked back at the loops in her hands, realizing that they were hairties. "Oh no way! I... They're hair bands!"

"Yep," Dan grinned.

"That's so weird... and right after I lost mine in that snow storm," Runo murmured. "You got this in New Vestroia?"

"Yeah, it's from another planet. Cool huh?" Dan asked with a grin. Runo rolled her eyes at him but smiled.

"Yeah. Really cool," she said. She glanced in the box again, her eyes catching the white circle in the center. Realizing that it wasn't just for show, she pulled it out and her eyes widened.

"Dan...?"

"Yeah?"

"How much money did you spend on me?" The ring turned out to actually be a bracelet, similar to the pink ones that Runo usually wore on her wrists. Those had also gotten lost in the snow storm. This one was white with pink streaks like paint along it, but semitransparent. It provided an effect almost like light was being streaked onto it. Runo turned it over in her hand and her eyes widened once more. There were opals set into it!

"That, Runo, is a secret!" Dan laughed. Runo sighed, smiling, and leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his chest in a hug.

"I can't believe you'd get this stuff for me," Runo whispered. The two ended up lying on the chair together, both hugging each other.

"Yeah well, you're my girlfriend. You're special to me," Dan said.

"So you buy me gemstones?"

"Well you know what they say. 'Diamonds are a girls best friend'."

"Shut up," she laughed. Dan smiled, resting his head on the pillow. The two rollwed out of each others arms at the same time and smiled, now lying on their backs.

"Hm." Dan grunted, still grinning.

"What?" Runo asked, glancing at him.

"The sunset's pretty, don't you think?" Dan asked. Runo was silent for a minute, turning her attention back to the sky. The sun hovered over the water, casting a bright reflection over it. It glowed brightly, but not so harshly that it bothered their eyes. The sun itself was a dark orange color, causing the rest of the sky to become a blotchy red-orange. The few clouds that streaked across the sky were pink and a little red, but, all in all, it was a beautiful sight.

Runo sighed contentedly, forgetting that Dan had even asked her a question. Dan didn't seem to notice her lack of answer, having forgotten that he asked a question in the first place. Their two Bakugan rolled over near them, Tigrerra resting on the side of the chair near her and Drago floating near Dan's head. Both remained silent as they observed the last of the suns vibrant rays vanish, giving way to the cool darkness of the night.

"Merry Christmas Dan," Runo whispered.

"Merry Christmas Runo," Dan whispered back.

Elsewhere, in the same town on Maui, a teenager clad in a dark red trench coat like outfit and a hawk-like mask strolled down the street, his mechanical blue eye darting around and taking in the scenery. The sly blue-clad Aquos brawler trailed behind him, as did the ever present Sub-Terra battler. Shadow also tagged along, but Lync and Volt stayed back on New Vestroia, enjoying the holiday. Spectra however, had a score he needed to settle, and he planned to strike when the two most valuable battlers were away from the others.

He stopped walking at the edge of a pristine white sanded beach to stare out at the final streaks of red that stretched across the darkened sky, and his mouth curled up slightly in a devilish smirk.

"Dan Kuso and Runo Misaki. I would suggest that you watch your backs. For soon, I promise you, you'll wish you had," he murmured, and continued on his way.

"**Hahahaha!" Breezyfeather laughs. "Final chapter COMPLETED!"**

"**You're seriously going to leave it there?" Runo asks.**

"**You're crazy," Keith says. "And my name is Spectra."**

"**Awww... but Keith sounds, actually, you know, domestic!" Breezyfeather whines.**

"**Too bad."**

"**..."**

**Thank you all for being so supportive throughout this story! I really enjoyed writing it, and like I said, maybe I'll to a sequel. I have to finish up my other stories first though, and then I might come back to this. I want to thank JazzGirl123, Sharpay Evans 11, Porque ella estaba enamorada and elle baybee for all of your reviews! There are a bunch of others reading and I want to thank you guys as well for sticking with the story as I wrote it! You guys really are great!**

**So... I'm gonna ask you one last time.**

**Please? **

**Maybe?**

…**.Please?**

**:P**


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